The West Carteret Patriots will square off against the East Carteret Mariners at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with West Carteret sitting on eight straight wins and East Carteret on three.
If West Carteret beats East Carteret with four runs on Wednesday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. West Carteret didn't even let Croatan on the board on Tuesday, marking West Carteret's second-straight 4-0 shutout. While the Patriots didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Not much got past Caitlin Dumarce, who gave up just a hit and racked up 16 Ks to keep Croatan off the board. What's more, Dumarce gave up only zero walks, the fewest she's had since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, West Carteret's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Saylor Gray, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4. Kyrstyn Braswell also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Meanwhile, East Carteret got the win against Lejeune on Tuesday by a conclusive 16-1.
Amilya Lewis made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Grayson Gillikin was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. What's more, she posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Sadie McIntosh, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two triples, two runs, and one RBI.
East Carteret kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are 4-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
West Carteret pushed their record up to 8-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for East Carteret, their win bumped their record up to 5-6.
East Carteret's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. West Carteret has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 15 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for East Carteret, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2 strikeouts. Will West Carteret keep running through batters, or will East Carteret buck the trend?
West Carteret skirted past East Carteret 4-2 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will West Carteret repeat their success, or does East Carteret has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
