St. Raphael Academy is 0-6 against Coventry since June of 2021 but things could change on Tuesday. The Saints will head out to face off against the Oakers at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
St. Raphael Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Scituate, who was ranked 25th at the time (St. Raphael Academy was ranked fifth). The Saints blew past the Spartans 14-1 on Monday. With that victory, the Saints brought their scoring average up to 6.4 runs per game.
Emma Martin was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Avalynn Guatieri, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Isabel Candelario also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
St. Raphael Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .643. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, while Coventry put up plenty of runs on Monday, the same can't be said for Ponaganset. The Oakers were the clear victors by a 12-0 margin over the Chieftains. The win was nothing new for the Oakers as they're now sitting on three straight.
LiLyana BeLL was a standout: she went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Mary Mcgovern was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
St. Raphael Academy is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Coventry, they pushed their record up to 11-5 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. St. Raphael Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Coventry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
St. Raphael Academy suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Coventry in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Saints avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
