The East Providence Townies will head out to challenge the Westerly Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. East Providence's pitching crew has only allowed 1.7 runs per game this season, so Westerly's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
East Providence is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Toll Gate, who was ranked eighth at the time (East Providence was ranked first). The Townies never let the Titans get on the board and left with a 9-0 win on Friday. 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. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping 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.
Aidan Martins
| 04/11/25 vs Toll Gate | 2 |
| 05/21/24 vs Ponaganset | 1 |
| 05/20/24 @ Ponaganset | 1 |
| 05/09/24 vs Woonsocket | 1 |
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. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Brian Rutkowski, who scored 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.
Meanwhile, Westerly hadn't done well against Waterford recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Bulldogs walked away with a 5-0 victory over the Lancers.
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 put up a double, which was his first of the season.
East Providence's record now sits at 6-1. As for Westerly, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. East Providence has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Westerly struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
East Providence came up short against Westerly when the teams last played back in June of 2024, falling 4-0. Can the Townies avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
