The Smithfield Sentinels are taking a road trip to square off against the Portsmouth Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Smithfield will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Smithfield is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: North Kingstown, who was ranked tenth at the time (Smithfield was ranked 13th). The Sentinels beat the Skippers on Thursday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 6-2. While the Sentinels didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-13-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Tucker Byrnes made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has become a key player for Smithfield: the team is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-4 otherwise. Byrnes was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Jacob Sylvester
| 04/24/25 @ North Kingstown | 2 |
| 04/18/25 vs Mt. Hope | 1 |
| 04/23/24 vs Central | 1 |
| 04/21/24 @ Bishop Hendricken | 1 |
Byrnes wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jacob Sylvester, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI. Those two RBI gave Sylvester a new career-high.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Portsmouth ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They walked away with a 5-2 win over South Kingstown.
Like Smithfield, Portsmouth also got a great game from a two-way player: Ben Humm. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. Humm has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Avery Amaio was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Casey Cord also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Portsmouth's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-7. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Smithfield, they picked up their first road victory, bumping their record up to 6-4.
Portsmouth's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Smithfield has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .462. It's a different story for Portsmouth, though, as they've only averaged .336. Will they be able to contain Smithfield's hitters?
Smithfield couldn't quite get it done against Portsmouth in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Can the Sentinels avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
