Somerset Academy hasn't had much luck against American Heritage recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Panthers will challenge the Patriots at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Somerset Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Mater Lakes Academy as they made off with a 10-3 win.
Luis Rivera tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances.
Hector Sanchez
| 04/15/25 vs Mater Lakes Academy | 3 |
| 02/20/25 @ Archbishop McCarthy | 2 |
| 03/18/25 @ Goleman | 1 |
| 03/10/25 @ iMater Charter | 1 |
| 03/06/25 @ American | 1 |
At the plate, Hector Sanchez was a standout: he scored three runs and stole six bases. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jon Mora, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Somerset Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. They are 6-2 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask American Heritage). They never let American get on the board and left with a 16-0 victory on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for American Heritage, who have now won five games in a row.
Mark Aleman looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, American Heritage got a massive performance out of RJ Machado, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Nicolas Ramos was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and four RBI.
American Heritage's victory bumped their record up to 20-6. As for Somerset Academy, their win bumped their record up to 11-15.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Somerset Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like American Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Somerset Academy suffered a grim 9-2 defeat to American Heritage in their previous matchup back in February. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
