Baseball Game Preview: Vestal Golden Bears vs. Union-Endicott Tigers

The Vestal Golden Bears will square off against the Union-Endicott Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Vestal will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.

Vestal barely beat Maine-Endwell the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Golden Bears' pitcher stepped up to hand the Spartans a 12-0 shutout on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Golden Bears, who have now won seven games by 12 runs or more so far this season.

Ben Tanton made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI.

In other batting news, Vestal got a massive performance out of Gavin Brady, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Another player making a difference was Henry Lay, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.

Vestal was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. They are a perfect 10-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Union-Endicott's offense. They fell just short of Elmira by a score of 2-0 on Friday. The defeat continues a trend for the Tigers in their meetings with the Express: they've now lost three in a row.

Vestal's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.7 runs over those games. As for Union-Endicott, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.

Vestal took their win against Union-Endicott in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. Will the Golden Bears repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.