The Ponaganset Chieftains will be playing in front of their home fans against the Middletown Islanders at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ponaganset has eight straight wins, Middletown has 16 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Ponaganset is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: West Warwick, who was ranked ninth in their home state at the time (Ponaganset was ranked fourth). Ponaganset never let West Warwick onto the board and left with a 2-0 victory on Monday.
The result came thanks to Chloe Barber's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Difiore, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen two or more in the last three games she's played.
Middletown lost 20-4 to South Kingstown on Monday.
Ponaganset pushed their record up to 8-1 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Middletown, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8.
Ponaganset took their victory against Middletown in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. Will Ponaganset repeat their success, or does Middletown have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
