Baseball Game Preview: Kings Park Kingsmen vs. Islip Buccaneers

For the second straight game, Kings Park will face off against Islip. The Kingsmen will take on the Buccaneers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Kings Park hasn't scored more than two runs for five games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.

Kings Park is headed into the matchup having just suffered their closest defeat since June 8, 2024 on Thursday. They fell just short of Islip by a score of 4-2.

For Islip's part, Dylan Ruland spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits.

At the plate, Islip let Greg McSweeny and Patrick O'Shea run wild. McSweeny got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base, while O'Shea went 1-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. That stolen base was McSweeny's first of the season. Colin Haug was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

Islip pushed their record up to 5-2 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Kings Park, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.