On Wednesday, Portsmouth faced Cranston West in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Portsmouth Patriots lost 11-2 to the Cranston West Falcons. Portsmouth was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Cranston West apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2023.
For Cranston West's part, Chris Barboza made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Barboza was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
In other pitching news, Logan Taylor looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Ryan Zarrella, who scored a run off of four hits. Another player making a difference was Brendan Smith, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
This is the second loss in a row for Portsmouth and nudges their season record down to 5-5. As for Cranston West, their win bumped their record up to 5-7.
Portsmouth will head out on the road to square off against Cranston East at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Cranston East is coming into the match with four straight victories at home, so Portsmouth will have to stop a team with plenty of momentum. Cranston West will take on Moses Brown at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
