The Scituate Spartans will square off against the North Smithfield Northmen at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Scituate's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so North Smithfield's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Scituate is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Tolman, who was ranked 24th at the time (Scituate was ranked 25th). The Spartans fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 7-6 on Thursday. The Spartans' defeat signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Travis Howman was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was David Hanson, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Blackstone Valley Prep typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday North Smithfield proved too difficult a challenge. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over the PRIDE. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Northmen have posted since May 12th.
Dennis Sullivan was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Samuel Garrepy, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Scituate's loss dropped their record down to 14-8. As for North Smithfield, their win bumped their record up to 10-14.
North Smithfield's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Scituate has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .447. It's a different story for North Smithfield, though, as they've only averaged .360. Will they be able to contain Scituate's hitters?
Scituate took their victory against North Smithfield in their previous meeting on Tuesday by a conclusive 7-0 score. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Northmen turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
