The Halifax Wildcats will face off against the Newport Buffaloes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, Halifax made easy work of Juniata and carried off a 12-1 win.
Josh Zahurak
| 04/30/25 @ Juniata | 4 |
| 04/28/25 vs East Juniata | 2 |
| 04/25/25 @ Greenwood | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Line Mountain | 2 |
| 03/28/25 vs Upper Dauphin Area | 2 |
Josh Zahurak made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Brandon Schell and Cooper Custer did most of the damage at the plate: Schell got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Custer went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one run. That's the most RBI Custer has posted since back in March of 2024.
Halifax hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Juniata struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, Newport got the win against East Juniata on Wednesday by a conclusive 13-3. The Buffaloes haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Like Halifax, Newport also got a great game from a two-way player: Landon Zaring. He struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off nine hits. Zaring was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two runs. Newport is 8-1 when Zaring posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zachary Bates, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Jameson Cummins, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Halifax's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Newport, their win bumped their record up to 10-4.
Halifax beat Newport 7-3 when the teams last played two weeks ago. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Buffaloes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
