vs
| 04/25/24 - Home | 5-10 L |
| 04/04/24 - Away | 5-6 L |
| 05/01/23 - Home | 10-3 W |
| 04/05/23 - Home | 7-3 W |
| 05/21/16 - Home | 7-5 W |
| 04/25/15 - Away | 1-13 L |
Rutherford and Lyndhurst are an even 3-3 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Bulldogs will welcome the Golden Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Rutherford 2.3, Lyndhurst 3.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Lyndhurst will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Rutherford extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Bulldogs blew past Hawthorne 11-1. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by ten runs or more this season.
Andrew Erickson made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. Erickson was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Chris Gioia was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Myles Balchan was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Rutherford was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Lyndhurst didn't have quite enough to beat Emerson on Wednesday and fell 4-3. The defeat continues a trend for the Golden Bears in their meetings with the Cavaliers: they've now lost seven in a row.
Ryan Lemanowicz was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. Matt Jarvis also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Rutherford pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Lyndhurst, their loss dropped their record down to 7-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rutherford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lyndhurst struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Rutherford couldn't quite get it done against Lyndhurst in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 as they fell 10-5. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
