Baseball Game Preview: Franklin Warriors vs. Phillipsburg Stateliners

For the second straight game, Franklin will face off against Phillipsburg. The Warriors will welcome the Stateliners at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Franklin is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between Franklin and Phillipsburg, and Phillipsburg kept the tradition alive. The Warriors fell just short of the Stateliners by a score of 7-6 on Tuesday. That's two games in a row now that the Warriors have lost by just one run.

Kelvin Heuston led a balanced group of hitters, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Franklin's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 2-6 when he doesn't). Elijah Zavatsky was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Phillipsburg is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for Franklin, their loss dropped their record down to 4-7.