The Westerly Bulldogs will take on the East Providence Townies at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Westerly 4, East Providence 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Westerly will bounce into Wednesday's match after beating Waterford, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Bulldogs' pitchers stepped up to hand the Lancers a 5-0 shutout on Friday.
Westerly's win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Kevin Saglio, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Saglio also hit a double, marking his first of the season.
Meanwhile, East Providence faced Toll Gate in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Townies blew past the Titans 9-0. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Tyler Dicecco was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Dicecco was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aidan Martins, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Brian Rutkowski was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
East Providence hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Toll Gate struck out 12 times.
Westerly's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-3. As for East Providence, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Westerly has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Providence struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Westerly was able to grind out a solid victory over East Providence when the teams last played back in June of 2024, winning 4-0. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Townies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
