The Ponaganset Chieftains will square off against the Prout Crusaders at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Ponaganset is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: West Warwick, who was ranked 12th at the time (Ponaganset was ranked 25th). The Chieftains fell 5-1 to the Wizards on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Prout hadn't done well against North Providence recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Crusaders came out on top against the Cougars by a score of 9-5. That's two games straight that the Crusaders have won by exactly four runs.
Andrew Nowell was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over 5.2 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Reid Klug and Kaden Osenkowski did most of the damage at the plate: Klug got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one double, while Osenkowski went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Lucas Sheehan also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Prout hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Providence struck out nine times.
The win made it two in a row for Prout and bumps their season record up to 7-8. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for Ponaganset, their loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 8-10.
Ponaganset suffered a grim 9-2 defeat to Prout in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Chieftains avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
