The North Providence Cougars are headed away from home for the first time to square off against the Portsmouth Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. North Providence will be strutting in after a victory while Portsmouth will be coming in after a defeat.
North Providence made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Woonsocket, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Cougars were the clear victors by a 12-1 margin over the Villa Novans on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Cougars needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.
Liliana Albanese made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over six innings pitched. Albanese was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, North Providence let Makenna Heon and Mariana Xavier run wild. Heon went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI, and two runs, while Xavier scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Adrianna Fortin, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of her five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth fell victim to Barrington and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They lost 12-0 to the Eagles. Having soared to a lofty 13 runs in the game before, the Patriots' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
The win got North Providence back to even at 1-1. As for Portsmouth, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 2-2.
North Providence suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Portsmouth in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps