The Smithfield Sentinels will venture away from home to square off against the Lincoln Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Smithfield's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Lincoln's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Smithfield is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: North Providence, who was ranked ninth at the time (Smithfield was ranked tenth). The Sentinels walked away with a 6-2 victory over the Cougars on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Lincoln had to endure an eight-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Coventry by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday.
Isaac Cabral made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Lincoln is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 0-8 otherwise. Cabral was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. That RBI was his first of the season.
Cabral wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Lucas Marshall, who went 2-for-4 with two runs.
Smithfield is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Lincoln, they picked up their first home victory, bumping their record up to 2-9.
Everything went Smithfield's way against Lincoln when the teams last played back in April, as Smithfield made off with a 9-2 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Sentinels since the team 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
