The Keansburg Titans will square off against the Lakewood Piners at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Keansburg beat Keyport 11-7. The Titans haven't had any issues with the Raiders recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
James Valle was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Valle was even better at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Emmanuel Ramirez and Michael Burke did most of the damage at the plate: Ramirez got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one double, while Burke scored three runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4. Shawn Retta was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lakewood, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They came out on top against Henry Hudson by a score of 7-4 on Thursday.
Like Keansburg, Lakewood also got a great game from a two-way player: Abel Martinez. On the mound, Martinez struck out ten batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Cris Rosario struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. At bat, Martinez scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-3, while Rosario scored a run and stole a base. The dominant performance also gave Rosario a new career-high in RBI (two).
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Chris Herrera, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Lakewood's victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-2. As for Keansburg, their win bumped their record up to 2-0.
Keansburg took their victory against Lakewood in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 12-0 score. Do the Titans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Piners turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
