The Northampton Konkrete Kids will face off against the Nazareth Area Blue Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Friday, Northampton didn't have quite enough to beat Liberty and fell 4-3. The Konkrete Kids have struggled against the Hurricanes recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive lost meeting.
Northampton got a good showing from Cole Schaffer, who pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those zero hits allowed gave Schaffer a new career-low.
On the hitting side, Aidan Sugra made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Nazareth Area entered their tilt with Bethlehem Catholic on Friday with six consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with seven. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over the Hawks.
Zak Novak tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Nazareth Area let Chase Kilareski and Ethan Strawn run wild. Kilareski went 1-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double, while Strawn went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Kilareski has posted since back in March. Ryan Petruska was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Nazareth Area's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Northampton, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-10.
Northampton came out on top in a nail-biter against Nazareth Area in their previous meeting on April 10th, sneaking past 5-4. Will the Konkrete Kids repeat their success, or do the Blue Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
