Baseball Game Preview: Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs vs. Toms River East Raiders

The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs will take on the Toms River East Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Rumson-Fair Haven hadn't beaten Wall Township on the road since April 19, 2023 but that history sure didn't bother them on Wednesday. The Bulldogs walked away with a 9-4 win over the Crimson Knights.

Hunter Beattie looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on DJ Ylagan, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. That's the most hits he has posted over his last ten games. Another player making a difference was Aiden Dill, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Toms River East had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Mustangs, sneaking past 3-1. Surprisingly, this marked the Raiders' sixth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.

Toms River East pushed their record up to 12-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.75 runs across that stretch. As for Rumson-Fair Haven, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-8-2 record this season.