Baseball Preview: Pocono Mountain East Cardinals vs. Emmaus Hornets
The Pocono Mountain East Cardinals will head out on the road to challenge the Emmaus Hornets at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Pocono Mountain East got themselves on the board against Pocono Mountain West, but Pocono Mountain West never followed suit. They walked away with a 5-0 win over the Panthers. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Pocono Mountain East.
Adam Horvath was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Horvath has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Horvath was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rocco DelGiudice, who went 2-for-2 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last four games he's played.
Meanwhile, Emmaus' hitters rose to the challenge against a Hawks pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.67 points allowed on Tuesday. Emmaus put the hurt on Bethlehem Catholic with a sharp 12-1 victory. The result was nothing new for Emmaus, who have now won four matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Like Pocono Mountain East, Emmaus also got a great game from a two-way player: Josiah Williams. He pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Williams was even better at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs.
In other pitching news, Cole Moreau tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over 5.2 innings pitched.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Noah Hogan, who went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Emmit Budick was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 3-for-5.
Pocono Mountain East has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. As for Emmaus, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pocono Mountain East has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Emmaus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Pocono Mountain East couldn't quite finish off Emmaus in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 and fell 6-4. Thankfully for Pocono Mountain East, Ryan Latchford (who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
