Baseball Game Preview: Lakewood Piners vs. Long Branch Green Wave

The Lakewood Piners will venture away from home to take on the Long Branch Green Wave at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Lakewood has given up an average of 9.1 runs per game this season, but Tuesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Lakewood lost 18-1 to Keansburg on Friday. The Piners haven't had much luck with the Titans recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.

Meanwhile, Long Branch started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Keyport. They came up short against the Raiders on Friday, falling 19-5.

David Jules and Havier Gonzalez stepped up to the plate in a big way. Jules earned one RBI, one run, and two stolen bases, while Gonzalez got on base in two of his three plate appearances with three stolen bases and one run. Jules is becoming a predictor of Long Branch's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 3-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Kellen Campbell, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases and one run.

Long Branch's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 4-4. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.

Lakewood couldn't quite get it done against Long Branch in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 9-6. Can the Piners avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.