Baseball Game Preview: Howell Rebels vs. Colts Neck Cougars

The Howell Rebels will face off against the Colts Neck Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Howell is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.

Colts Neck will be up against a hot Howell team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Rebels came out on top against Shore Regional by a score of 10-5 on Wednesday. While the Rebels didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Howell let Jack Quinn and Matt Vetrano run wild. Quinn went 2-for-4 with four runs, one double, and one RBI, while Vetrano went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run. Those four runs gave Quinn a new career-high. Antonio Magistrelli was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, Colts Neck has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.3 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Tuesday. They lost 11-0 to Howell. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Cougars have suffered since April 17, 2024.

Colts Neck also got a good showing from Nick Hardy, who pitched four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits.

At the plate, Colts Neck saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was RJ Conover, who went 1-for-2 with one double.

Colts Neck has also been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-3 record this season. As for Howell, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4-1.

Everything went Howell's way against Colts Neck in their previous matchup on Tuesday, as Howell made off with an 11-0 win. Will the Rebels repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.