The Tiverton Tigers will take on the Cranston East Thunderbolts at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Tiverton 2.4, Cranston East 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Thursday as neither Tiverton nor Rogers made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Tigers fell just short of the Vikings by a score of 2-1. The matchup marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Lia Doster
| 05/15/25 @ Rogers | 5 |
| 05/13/25 vs Narragansett | 5 |
| 05/08/25 @ Juanita Sanchez Complex | 6 |
| 05/02/25 @ Central Falls | 9 |
| 04/29/25 vs Exeter-West Greenwich | 6 |
| + 5 more games |
Lia Doster put in work while hitting and pitching. She tossed 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one triple.
Doster wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Carlie Martin, who went 1-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Cranston East had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they went ahead and made it eight on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Cavaliers a 19-0 shutout. Considering the Thunderbolts have won 12 games by more than seven runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Tiverton, Cranston East also got a great game from a two-way player: Lexi Montalban. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Montalban was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three runs and four RBI. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Cranston East let Cydnee Meekins and Nevaeh Fatorma run wild. Meekins went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple, while Fatorma went 2-for-3 with four runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. That's the most hits Meekins has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Gianna Tocci, who got on base in two of her four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Cranston East hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Juanita Sanchez Complex struck out seven times.
Cranston East pushed their record up to 13-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Tiverton, their loss ended a nine-game streak of away wins and brought them to 15-2.
Monday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Tiverton has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .535. However, it's not like Cranston East struggles in that department as they've averaged .524. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Tiverton came out on top in a nail-biter against Cranston East in their previous matchup back in April, sneaking past 6-5. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Thunderbolts turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
