The Ponaganset Chieftains will head out on the road to take on the Johnston Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Ponaganset fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Moses Brown on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Quakers by a score of 7-6. The Chieftains have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Mattea Mello spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered six earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up 12 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Ponaganset saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lilliana Ambrose, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That double was Ambrose's first of the season. Another was Cali LaMountain, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Johnston, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Everything went their way against Scituate on Monday as they made off with a 10-0 victory. Considering the Panthers have won six games by more than seven runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Haley Boudreau made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 16 over six innings pitched. Boudreau was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bella Boudreau, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those three hits gave her a new career-high. Kendall Duguay was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Johnston was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .344 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Ponaganset's defeat dropped their record down to 4-10. As for Johnston, their record now sits at 10-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ponaganset has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Johnston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ponaganset couldn't quite get it done against Johnston when the teams last played back in April as they fell 4-0. Can the Chieftains avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
