The Hartford Hurricanes will square off against the Mt. Mansfield Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hartford is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Vermont's top teams: Bellows Falls, who was ranked 14th at the time (Hartford was ranked 18th). The Hurricanes came out on top against the Terriers by a score of 4-1 on Thursday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last eight times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Hartford saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hugh Wendling, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Solly Flores also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Mt. Mansfield came tearing into Thursday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 10-5 win over the Seahorses. With that victory, the Cougars brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Caleb Murphy and Langdon Hazen did most of the damage at the plate: Murphy went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, four runs, and one double, while Hazen went 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. Hazen is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Garrett Carter, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Hartford's win bumped their record up to 3-6. As for Mt. Mansfield, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hartford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mt. Mansfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hartford might still be hurting after the 14-4 loss they got from Mt. Mansfield in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Hurricanes have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
