New Brighton is 7-1 against Northgate since April of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Lions will host the Flames at 4:00 p.m.
On Thursday, New Brighton didn't have quite enough to beat Freedom Area and fell 3-2. The game marked the Lions' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Brock Budacki
| 04/17/25 @ Freedom Area | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Shenango | 1 |
| 04/14/25 vs Shenango | 1 |
| 04/07/25 vs Aliquippa | 4 |
| 04/07/25 vs Aliquippa | 2 |
| + 3 more games |
New Brighton saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brock Budacki, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and one run. Budacki is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last eight games he's played.
Meanwhile, Northgate got the win against Aliquippa on Wednesday by a conclusive 11-5. The Flames haven't had any issues with the Quips recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Dwayne Reed was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up five earned runs off three hits. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Northgate let Sam Stiteler and Anthony Barron run wild. Stiteler got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and two RBI, while Barron went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Barron has become a key player for Northgate: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Devontae Smith, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Northgate always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .583. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matchups.
This is the second loss in a row for New Brighton and nudges their season record down to 6-5. As for Northgate, the victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 4-8.
New Brighton took their win against Northgate in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 19-2 score. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Flames have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
