Penfield is on a four-game streak of home losses, and Gates Chili a three-game streak of away losses. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Thursday. The Penfield Patriots will welcome the Gates Chili Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Penfield and Hilton meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Wednesday. The Patriots fell 7-4 to the Cadets.
Penfield got a good showing from Dom Denecke, who tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
On the hitting side, Gabe Reyes made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Joey Bianchi, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Gates Chili fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Webster Thomas on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Titans by a score of 2-1.
Cole Gorman spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Gates Chili saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Andrew McManus, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base.
Penfield's defeat dropped their record down to 5-8. As for Gates Chili, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.
Everything went Penfield's way against Gates Chili in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, as Penfield made off with an 11-4 win. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
