After six games on the road, Scituate is heading back home. They will take on the Hope Blue Wave at 4:45 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Scituate is headed into the contest fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Providence Country Day on Saturday as Scituate made off with a 24-4 victory. The result was nothing new for Scituate, who have now won five matchups by nine runs or more so far this season.
Travis Howman and Jackson Scanlon made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Howman tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Scanlon tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Howman scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Scanlon scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Scituate let Kaiden Durand and Drake Dumont loose on the outfield. Durand got on base in five of his six plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and a stolen base, while Dumont went 2-for-2 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs. Durand has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Paul Zolkos was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Thursday Hope sidestepped Exeter-West Greenwich for a 2-1 win.
Like Scituate, Hope also got a great game from a two-way player: Raynel Rodriguez. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over seven innings pitched. Rodriguez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Scituate is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a massive bump to their 8-6 record this season. As for Hope, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Scituate has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Hope struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Scituate's way against Hope when the teams last played back in April of 2023 as Scituate made off with a 21-0 win. Does Scituate have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hope turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
