Baseball Game Preview: Dayton Bulldogs vs. Cranford Cougars

Dayton hasn't had much luck against Cranford recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Bulldogs are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will face off against the Cougars at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Dayton is headed out to face Cranford after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. The Bulldogs walked away with a 10-7 victory over Summit on Tuesday.

Michael Ramirez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Ramirez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Jackson Babiarz

Stolen Base (Career)

04/01/25 vs Summit	3
04/23/24 @ Union Catholic	1
04/15/24 @ Plainfield	1
04/04/24 @ Union	1

In other batting news, Jackson Babiarz was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Nate Goldman was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

Dayton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Summit only posted an OBP of .400.

Meanwhile, Cranford had to kick off their season on the road on Tuesday, but they showed no ill effects. They came out on top against Oratory Prep by a score of 8-3.

Cranford also got a great performance from Christian Pereira as he pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Michael Tripodi, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, four RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Brayden Fry, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.

Dayton couldn't quite finish off Cranford in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 and fell 7-5. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.