vs
| 04/05/24 - Home | 2-4 L |
| 05/10/23 - Away | 11-3 W |
| 04/29/19 - Home | 16-0 W |
| 04/29/19 - Away | 16-0 W |
| 04/04/19 - Home | 16-8 W |
| + 5 more games |
Stonington is 9-1 against Wheeler since April of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Bears will host the Lions at 11:00 a.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Wheeler will be up against a hot Stonington team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. The Bears put the hurt on Killingly with a sharp 10-2 win on Friday. That's two games straight that the Bears have won by exactly eight runs.
Jace Wolfradt was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Cannella, who went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Wheeler, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They never let Windham get on the board and left with an 11-0 victory on Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Whippets: they've now won five in a row.
Garett Lenihan made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.6 strikeouts per game. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Luke Dowry, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Jeremy Ventilino was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Wheeler always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Windham only posted an OBP of .167.
Stonington's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Wheeler, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Saturday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Stonington hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .314. However, it's not like Wheeler struggles in that department as they've averaged .367. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Stonington couldn't quite finish off Wheeler when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
