The Smithfield Sentinels will head out on the road to face off against the Lincoln Lions at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Smithfield has four straight wins, Lincoln has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Smithfield beats Lincoln with six runs on Saturday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matchups with that exact score. The Sentinels beat North Kingstown on Thursday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 6-2. While the Sentinels didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-13-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Tucker Byrnes was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Smithfield is undefeated when Byrnes allows one or fewer earned runs, but 3-4 otherwise. Byrnes was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Jacob Sylvester
| 04/24/25 @ North Kingstown | 2 |
| 04/18/25 vs Mt. Hope | 1 |
| 04/23/24 vs Central | 1 |
| 04/21/24 @ Bishop Hendricken | 1 |
Byrnes wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Sylvester, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI. Those two RBI gave Sylvester a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Lincoln came up short against East Providence on Thursday and fell 6-2.
The victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 6-4. As for Lincoln, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-8.
Smithfield's speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's game. The Sentinels have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Lincoln, though, as they've been averaging only 0.3 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Smithfield continue to outrun the ball?
Smithfield took their win against Lincoln when the teams last played last Wednesday by a conclusive 9-2 score. 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.
