Kearny hasn't had much luck against Clifton recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Kardinals will take on the Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. Kearny is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Kearny's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against University Academy Charter as they made off with a 16-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Kardinals in their matchups with the Generals: they've now won five in a row.
Jayden Diaz was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Jonah Menendez
| 04/23/25 vs University Academy Charter | 4 |
| 04/21/25 vs University Academy Charter | 3 |
| 03/31/25 vs Lincoln | 2 |
| 05/08/24 @ East Side | 2 |
| 04/11/25 @ Dickinson | 1 |
In other batting news, Kearny let Jonah Menendez and Julian Butler run wild. Menendez got on base in two of his four plate appearances with four runs and one stolen base, while Butler went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Those four runs gave Menendez a new career-high. Michael Jarquin also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Kearny always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .629. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Clifton came up short against Eastside on Wednesday and fell 6-3.
Seth Porcelli was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 4.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in March.
At the plate, Clifton saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tony Morales, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Clifton has also been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-9 record this season. As for Kearny, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Kearny couldn't quite get it done against Clifton in their previous meeting back in May of 2017 as they fell 5-1. Can the Kardinals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
