The Mathews Blue Devils will square off against the Northampton Yellowjackets at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Mathews' pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Charles City as they made off with a 15-0 win.
Michael Wiatt made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Wiatt was also big at the plate, earning one run and two stolen bases.
In other batting news, Christian Blue was excellent, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Zac Salvadori, who got on base in both of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Mathews always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .655. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Charles City only posted an OBP of .182.
Meanwhile, Northampton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They took a 16-12 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chincoteague.
Northampton saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Porter Spence, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Spence also hit two doubles, marking his first of the season. Jason Kim was another, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Mathews' victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 3-5. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.0 runs over those games. As for Northampton, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Wednesday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Mathews has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .471. However, it's not like Northampton struggles in that department as they've averaged .454. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Mathews' way against Northampton when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Mathews made off with a 14-4 victory. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Yellowjackets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
