North Branford dropped their record down to 16-3 on Monday, which also ended the team's eight-game streak of wins at home. They came up short against the Cromwell Panthers, falling 10-3. The Thunderbirds were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Panthers earlier this season, when they won 4-2.
As for Cromwell, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-8-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games.
For Cromwell's part, Jess Elfreich and Tyler Bonelli made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Elfreich pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Bonelli struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Elfreich has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Elfreich went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI, while Bonelli went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Elfreich is becoming a predictor of Cromwell's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 2-1 (and 6-7-1 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Sam Cleveland was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Burdick, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Coming up, North Branford will face off against Old Lyme at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The last three games the Wildcats have played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one. As for Cromwell, they will take on Haddam-Killingworth at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cougars' pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so the Panthers' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
