The North Providence Cougars will take on the Chariho Chargers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. North Providence's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Chariho's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
North Providence is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Narragansett, who was ranked 22nd at the time (North Providence was ranked 12th). The Cougars came out on top in a nail-biter against the Mariners on Tuesday, sneaking past 3-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cougars.
Gabe Ramirez was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Allard, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Chariho waltzed into their game on Tuesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They walked away with a 9-5 victory over the Broncos.
Adam Carpenter and Gavyn Pepler made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Carpenter struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Pepler tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Carpenter went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Pepler got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gavin Apice, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last five games he's played. Christian Mancini was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Chariho's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for North Providence, their win bumped their record up to 15-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. North Providence has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Chariho struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
North Providence skirted past Chariho 8-7 in their previous meeting on May 1st. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Chargers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
