Baseball Game Preview: Masuk Panthers vs. New Fairfield Rebels

Masuk and New Fairfield are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Panthers will host the Rebels at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Masuk comes in on four and New Fairfield on three.

Masuk's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 win over Stratford. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since May 14, 2024.

Justin Fanning

Batters Struck Out

04/23/25 @ Stratford	8
04/19/25 @ Southington	1
04/14/25 @ New Canaan	5
04/08/25 @ Wilton	7
05/10/24 @ Kolbe-Cathedral	10

Masuk got a great performance from Justin Fanning as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over 6.2 innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts Fanning has posted since back in May of 2024.

At the plate, Masuk's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chris Welch, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, New Fairfield sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-7 victory over Pomperaug on Wednesday.

Brendan Gaska tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over six innings while giving up five earned runs off seven hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Andrew Dossena was incredible, going 2-for-4 with three stolen bases and three runs. Law Roccamo was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

The win got New Fairfield back to even at 5-5. As for Masuk, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.

Masuk might still be hurting after the 13-4 defeat they got from New Fairfield when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.