The Hope Blue Wave will head out on the road to face off against the Scituate Spartans at 4:45 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Hope sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over Exeter-West Greenwich.
Raynel Rodriguez made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Rodriguez has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Rodriguez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Scituate scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They put the hurt on Providence Country Day with a sharp 24-4 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Scituate considering their one-run performance the contest before.
Like Hope, Scituate also got a great game from a two-way player: Travis Howman. On the mound, Howman tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Jackson Scanlon tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At bat, Howman scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Scanlon scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Kaiden Durand and Drake Dumont did most of the damage at the plate: Durand got on base in five of his six plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and a stolen base, while Dumont went 2-for-2 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Zolkos, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3.
Hope's record is now 5-9. As for Scituate, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hope has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Scituate struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hope suffered a grim 21-0 defeat to Scituate in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can Hope avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
