Baseball Game Preview: Mahwah Thunderbirds vs. NV - Old Tappan Golden Knights

The Mahwah Thunderbirds will venture away from home to challenge the NV - Old Tappan Golden Knights at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Mahwah will bounce into Saturday's contest after beating Ramsey, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Thunderbirds came out on top against the Rams by a score of 4-1 on Wednesday. The game was the first time the Thunderbirds have beaten the Rams on their field since May 11, 2023.

Brendan Kelly tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Mahwah is 5-2 when he allows at most two walks, but 6-7 otherwise.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Matt Mackey, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Ryan Hawken was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, NV - Old Tappan waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Gaels a 1-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Golden Knights have posted since April 5th.

NV - Old Tappan's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Mahwah, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-9.

Mahwah couldn't quite finish off NV - Old Tappan in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Thunderbirds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.