The Middletown Islanders will head out on the road to square off against the North Providence Cougars at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Middletown is headed into the match fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Burrillville with a sharp 12-4 win on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded Middletown with their most commanding win of the season.
Evan Agren was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing six innings while giving up four earned runs off five hits. Agren was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Evan Levasseur, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Jacob Mello was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, North Providence can finally bid farewell to their six-game losing streak dating back to last season thanks to their game on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Raphael Academy and snuck past 5-4.
North Providence saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ronald Paux, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Middletown is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 3-3 record this season. As for North Providence, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Middletown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Providence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Middletown skirted past North Providence 8-7 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Middletown since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
