The Toll Gate Titans will head out to square off against the West Warwick Wizards at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Toll Gate has struggled recently with seven defeats in a row, while West Warwick will arrive with five straight victories.
On Wednesday, Toll Gate came up short against Ponaganset and fell 5-2.
Braeden Geer made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases.
Meanwhile, West Warwick faced Scituate in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Wizards put the hurt on the Spartans with a sharp 11-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Wizards, who have now won four games by ten runs or more so far this season.
Anthony Burt spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on one hit and racked up 12 Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jair Blanco, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Nick Andruchow, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
West Warwick always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Scituate only posted an OBP of .222.
West Warwick pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Toll Gate, their loss dropped their record down to 1-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Toll Gate has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Warwick struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Toll Gate came up short against West Warwick in their previous meeting on April 4th, falling 5-0. Can the Titans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
