The Ponaganset Chieftains will head out to face off against the Johnston Panthers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ponaganset is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 14-2 margin over Middletown on Wednesday. The victory continues a trend for the Chieftains in their matchups with the Islanders: they've now won three in a row.
Johnston let Rogers stack four runs on them in the fourth inning on Thursday but luckily Johnston prevailed anyway. The Panthers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 win over the Vikings. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since May 29, 2024.
Aiden Neil made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Johnston is 2-1 when Neil allows one or fewer hits, but 1-9 otherwise. Neil was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ethan Bracey, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Corey Ogden also deserves some recognition as he scored his first runs of the season.
Johnston has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-10 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Ponaganset, their record is now 7-9.
Ponaganset was able to grind out a solid victory over Johnston in their previous meeting back in April, winning 7-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chieftains since the squad 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
