The Johnston Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Portsmouth Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Johnston is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.4 runs per game this season.
Johnston is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: East Greenwich, who was ranked 15th at the time (Johnston was ranked 18th). The Panthers lost 11-3 to the Avengers on Monday. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Panthers, who until this game were averaging 2.7 runs allowed.
Haley Boudreau
| 05/12/25 vs East Greenwich | 9 |
| 05/07/25 @ West Warwick | 5 |
| 05/01/25 vs Portsmouth | 15 |
| 04/29/25 @ Mt. Hope | 8 |
| 04/23/25 @ Burrillville | 21 |
| + 5 more games |
Haley Boudreau spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and eight unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Kalyn Foster made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Bella Boudreau was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth won against Barrington on Thursday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. Everything went the Patriots' way against South Kingstown as they made off with a 9-3 victory. Considering the Patriots have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Mia Ruggieri made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Those 12 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
In other batting news, Emily Bronson and Evelyn Schmidt did most of the damage at the plate: Bronson went 2-for-4 with three runs and one stolen base, while Schmidt went 2-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Those three runs gave Bronson a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Barbara Rainey, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Portsmouth kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
The win was the third in a row for Portsmouth, bringing their record up to 8-8. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Johnston, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-3.
Johnston skirted past Portsmouth 1-0 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
