Baseball Game Preview: Hawthorne Bears vs. Manchester Regional Falcons

Hawthorne is a perfect 10-0 against Manchester Regional since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Bears will face off against the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Hawthorne is headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since April 25, 2024 on Wednesday. They skirted past Butler 2-1.

Manchester Regional never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology on Wednesday. They never let the Lions get on the board and left with a 27-0 win. The Falcons have beaten the Lions the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Lions has come to flipping the script.

Bryan Almodovar and Adrian Hernandez made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Almodovar pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hernandez tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. At bat, Almodovar scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Hernandez scored four runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4.

In other batting news, Luis Feliz was a standout: he scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Geremi Gonzalez was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 4-for-5.

The victory got Hawthorne back to even at 2-2. As for Manchester Regional, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

Everything went Hawthorne's way against Manchester Regional when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Hawthorne made off with a 15-4 victory. Do the Bears have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.