The Middletown Islanders will venture away from home to square off against the Narragansett Mariners at 4:45 p.m. on Monday. The last four games Middletown has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Middletown took a six-run defeat the last time they faced off against Johnston, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Islanders sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday. That's two games straight that the Islanders have won by just one run.
The team relied heavily on Kenny Pirches, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
Meanwhile, Narragansett faced Barrington in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Mariners lost 11-3 to the Eagles. The Mariners haven't had much luck with the Eagles recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Narragansett saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Vito Paglia, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Middletown's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Narragansett, their loss dropped their record down to 8-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Middletown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Narragansett struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Middletown came out on top in a nail-biter against Narragansett when the teams last played back in April, sneaking past 2-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Islanders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
