The King Philip Regional Warriors will head out to square off against the Taunton Tigers at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (King Philip Regional 2.1, Taunton 1.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
King Philip Regional will bounce into Monday's match after beating Franklin, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Warriors won by a run and slipped past the Panthers 4-3.
Nate Pennini
| 05/16/25 vs Franklin | 7 |
| 04/28/25 @ North Attleborough | 6 |
| 04/10/25 vs Hopkinton | 5 |
| 05/07/25 @ Canton | 2 |
| 04/19/25 @ Oliver Ames | 2 |
King Philip Regional got a great performance from Nate Pennini as he struck out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). Those seven strikeouts gave Pennini a new career-high.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Tommy Gately, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Vinny Menendez, who went 1-for-2 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Taunton faced Attleboro in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Tigers walked away with a 4-0 victory over the Bombardiers. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Bombardiers recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive win against them.
The result came thanks to Johnny Escobalez's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jeremy Knief was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Taunton pushed their record up to 16-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for King Philip Regional, their record is now 15-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. King Philip Regional has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Taunton struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
King Philip Regional skirted past Taunton 2-0 in their previous matchup back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Warriors since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
