Baseball Preview: Middletown Blue Raiders vs. Susquenita Blackhawks
Middletown has been on the road for three straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will take on the Susquenita Blackhawks at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Middletown was able to grind out a solid win over Susquehanna Township, taking the game 5-1.
Max Dupes spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered one run (which was unearned) on one hit and racked up 11 Ks.
On the hitting side, Jacob Miler was excellent, going 1-for-4 with a home run. Tyson Leach was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Susquenita never let their opponents score on Thursday. They were the clear victor by an 11-0 margin over Line Mountain. With that victory, Susquenita brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Drew Deaven made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Deaven was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Susquenita let Drew Gibney and Colton Reeder loose on the outfield. Gibney scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Reeder scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Gibney, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Middletown's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-8. As for Susquenita, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Middletown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Susquenita struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Middletown's way against Susquenita in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 as Middletown made off with a 7-1 victory. Will Middletown repeat their success, or does Susquenita have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
