Pilgrim is 8-0 against Smithfield since April of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Pilgrim Patriots will look to defend their home field against the Smithfield Sentinels at 4:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Pilgrim sitting on five straight victories and Smithfield on four.
Pilgrim is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Chariho, who was ranked 17th in their home state at the time (Pilgrim was ranked eighth). Pilgrim narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Chariho 6-4.
Gretchen Dombeck spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Madison Tuirok was incredible, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Marin Prest, who went 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Smithfield was able to grind out a solid victory over East Providence on Tuesday, taking the game 13-9.
The team relied heavily on Madison Kennedy, who scored four runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Skyla Oliveira, who scored two runs while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances.
Pilgrim has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. As for Smithfield, the win got them back to even at 6-6.
Smithfield's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pilgrim has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. It's a different story for Smithfield, though, as they've been averaging 9. Given Pilgrim's sizable advantage in that area, Smithfield will need to find a way to close that gap.
Pilgrim took their victory against Smithfield when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 8-1. Will Pilgrim repeat their success, or does Smithfield have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
