Baseball Game Preview: Caldwell Chiefs vs. Belleville Buccaneers

Caldwell is 8-2 against Belleville since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Chiefs will head out on the road to square off against the Buccaneers at 4:00 p.m. Caldwell will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.

On Thursday, Caldwell sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over St. Benedict's Prep.

Marco Sozio

Batters Struck Out

05/15/25 @ St. Benedict's Prep	11
05/10/25 @ Sparta	6
04/25/25 vs West Orange	5
04/19/25 vs Verona	9

Marco Sozio spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up 11 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Caldwell's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Dante Placenti, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base. Santino Russo was another, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base.

Belleville came out on top against Kearny on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run first inning. The Buccaneers walked away with a 6-2 win over the Kardinals. The victory continues a trend for the Buccaneers in their matchups with the Kardinals: they've now won five in a row.

Belleville's win bumped their record up to 9-10. As for Caldwell, their victory bumped their record up to 12-7.

Caldwell was able to grind out a solid win over Belleville when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 4-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chiefs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.