Softball Game Preview: Cranston East Thunderbolts vs. Hope Blue Wave

Thunderbolts

Runs

05/21/25 vs Barrington	1
05/19/25 @ Tiverton	3
05/16/25 @ Juanita Sanchez Complex	19
05/14/25 vs Rogers	12
05/13/25 vs Hope	13
+ 13 more games

The Cranston East Thunderbolts will challenge the Hope Blue Wave at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Cranston East is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 11.2 runs per game this season.

Cranston East is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Barrington, who was ranked 11th at the time (Cranston East was ranked 18th). The Thunderbolts lost 11-1 to the Eagles on Wednesday. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Thunderbolts, who until this game were averaging 3.94 runs allowed.

Cranston East saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nevaeh Fatorma, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run. Fatorma is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games she's played.

Meanwhile, Hope had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 14-13 W against the Knights. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Blue Wave have posted since April 25, 2024.

Hope's victory bumped their record up to 9-10. As for Cranston East, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-5.

Everything went Cranston East's way against Hope in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Cranston East made off with a 13-5 win. Do the Thunderbolts have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Blue Wave turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.