Baseball Game Preview: Hopewell Titans vs. Palisades Pumas

The Hopewell Titans will challenge the Palisades Pumas at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Palisades will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Hopewell extended their winning streak to six on Tuesday. Everything went the Titans' way against West Mecklenburg as they made off with an 18-3 win.

Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, Palisades made sure to put some runs up on the board against Ballantyne Ridge on Friday. The Pumas were the clear victors by a 14-2 margin over the Wolves.

Micah VanFossen was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Palisades' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 5-1 (and 3-7 when he doesn't).

In other batting news, Max Wearing was incredible, firing off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Palisades: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Addison Rowland, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.

Palisades kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April of 2024.

Palisades has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.4 runs over those games. As for Hopewell, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-3.

Hopewell skirted past Palisades 5-4 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Titans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.