The Shea Raiders will square off against the Cranston East Thunderbolts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Shea: 3.8, Cranston East: 1.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Shea is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They had just enough and edged Tiverton out 10-8. Ten seems to be a good number for Shea as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Janayah Gordon made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up six earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Gordon has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season. Gordon was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, Aniya Rua and Alexandra Larios did most of the damage at the plate: Rua scored two runs while going 3-for-4, while Larios scored two runs while going 2-for-5. Another player making a difference was Clara Perez, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Meanwhile, Cranston East put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Tiverton as Cranston East made off with a 9-0 victory. The result was nothing new for Cranston East, who have now won 12 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Like Shea, Cranston East also got a great game from a two-way player: Isabella Sousa. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Sousa was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Jaeda Viveiros and Nevaeh Fatorma did most of the damage at the plate: Viveiros scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Fatorma went 1-for-3 with two runs and a triple. Samaya Imondi was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
The win made it two in a row for Shea and bumps their season record up to 11-7. As for Cranston East, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Shea has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cranston East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Shea came up short against Cranston East when the teams last played last Tuesday, falling 5-1. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Sousa, who struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). Now that Shea knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
