Baseball Game Preview: Westerly Bulldogs vs. Norwich Free Academy Wildcats

The Westerly Bulldogs will head out to square off against the Norwich Free Academy Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Westerly is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.

Westerly is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: North Kingstown, who was ranked seventh at the time (Westerly was ranked eighth). The Bulldogs won by a run and slipped past the Skippers 7-6. Seven seems to be a good number for the Bulldogs as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Zack Miner made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in eight consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and one double.

Tom Fiore

Runs (Career)

04/30/25 vs North Kingstown	3
04/28/25 vs Pilgrim	2
04/25/25 vs Narragansett	2
04/08/25 vs Barrington	2
04/17/24 @ Prout	2

In other batting news, Tom Fiore was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Norwich Free Academy has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.45 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Wednesday. They lost 10-2 to Woodstock Academy. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Wildcats have suffered since May 2, 2024.

Westerly's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Norwich Free Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 8-3.

Westerly suffered a grim 14-2 defeat to Norwich Free Academy in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.