Westwood is 0-6 against Bayside since March of 2018 but things could change on Thursday. The Panthers will welcome the Bears at 4:00 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Westwood will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Lincoln Park Academy, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Panthers narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Greyhounds 8-6. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Jabari Monds and Sincer Bowman did most of the damage at the plate: Monds got on base in three of his four plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and one double, while Bowman went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI and one stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Romance Reynolds, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Westwood kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in February of 2025.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bayside). They skirted past Heritage 10-8. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Bears considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
Riley Ramroop made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Ramroop was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2025.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Steven Soto, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Cooper Garrison also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Bayside's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-5. As for Westwood, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Bayside's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Westwood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Bayside, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 strikeouts. Will Westwood keep running through batters, or will the Bears buck the trend?
Westwood suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Bayside when the teams last played back in February of 2025. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
