The Toll Gate Titans are taking a road trip to challenge the North Providence Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Toll Gate has struggled recently with five defeats in a row, while North Providence will arrive with six straight victories.
Prout hit Toll Gate with a four-run sixth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Titans came up short against the Crusaders, falling 10-1.
Toll Gate saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Oliver Chavez, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that Chavez has brought in this season.
Meanwhile, North Providence faced Middletown in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Cougars blew past the Islanders 10-2. The Cougars' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Vin Pontarelli spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Tony Abed, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Carter Harris was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
North Providence's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-0. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Toll Gate, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Toll Gate has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Providence struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Toll Gate skirted past North Providence 6-5 when the teams last played back in May of 2018. Will the Titans repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
