The Ponaganset Chieftains will head out on the road to challenge the Scituate Spartans at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ponaganset has nine straight wins, Scituate has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
In what's become a running theme this season, Ponaganset gave their fans yet another huge victory on Wednesday. They blew past Middletown 14-1. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Ponaganset considering their two-run performance the match before.
Chloe Barber and Maia Salvo were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Barber tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Salvo didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over four innings pitched. Barber has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Barber scored three runs while going 2-for-4, while Salvo scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Ponaganset got a big performance out of Ava Difiore, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Difiore has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jillian Baris, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Scituate faced Lincoln in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. Scituate took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Lincoln.
Scituate saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Abigail Chatelle, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Scituate hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lincoln struck out seven times.
Ponaganset's win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. As for Scituate, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.
Scituate's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ponaganset has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .488. It's a different story for Scituate, though, as they've only averaged .323. Will they be able to contain Ponaganset's hitters?
Ponaganset came up short against Scituate in their previous matchup back in May of 2022, falling 8-3. Can Ponaganset avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
