The Ocean Township Spartans will square off against the Keansburg Titans on Saturday. Ocean Township's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Keansburg's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Ocean Township blew Colts Neck out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Thursday Colts Neck got their revenge. The Spartans fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 4-2. That makes it the first time this season the Spartans have let down their home crowd.
Meanwhile, Keansburg had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 10-9 W against the Bishops.
Michael Burke was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and six unearned) runs off six hits. Burke was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with four stolen bases and one run. Those four stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on James Valle, who got on base in two of his five plate appearances with four stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Shawn Retta, who earned one run and five stolen bases.
Keansburg's win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.9 runs over those games. As for Ocean Township, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-6-1.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
