Baseball Game Preview: Milford Scarlet Hawks vs. Mansfield Hornets

Milford is 2-8 against Mansfield since April of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Scarlet Hawks will venture away from home to square off against the Hornets at 4:30 p.m. Milford will be strutting in after a victory while Mansfield will be coming in after a loss.

While Milford's win against Westborough wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Scarlet Hawks sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-8 victory over the Rangers on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Scarlet Hawks in their matchups with the Rangers: they've now won four in a row.

Milford let Derek Marcolini and Kyle Morin run wild. Marcolini went 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base, while Morin went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run. Those runs marked the first that Marcolini has scored this season. Another player making a difference was Tanner Longacre, who earned two RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Mansfield came up short against John Carroll on Thursday and fell 5-2. The Hornets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Mansfield saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Darrian Sanders, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Mansfield now has a losing record of 5-6. As for Milford, their victory bumped their record up to 3-7.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Milford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mansfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Milford couldn't quite finish off Mansfield in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 5-3. Can the Scarlet Hawks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.