The Portsmouth Patriots will face off against the Johnston Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a eight-game winning streak alive.
Portsmouth is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top against Scituate by a score of 8-4. Eight seems to be a good number for Portsmouth as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Mary Rainey spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than seven innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Barbara Rainey was incredible, going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Mia Ruggieri, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a double.
Meanwhile, Johnston faced Narragansett in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. Johnston never let Narragansett onto the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The result was nothing new for Johnston, who have now won six matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Haley Boudreau made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Boudreau was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Alexia Dilorenzo and Bella Boudreau did most of the damage at the plate: Dilorenzo scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Boudreau scored a run while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Arianna Velasquez was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Portsmouth has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. As for Johnston, their win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Portsmouth has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Johnston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
