The Lakeland Hornets will venture away from home to take on the Croton-Harmon Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Things were looking good for Lakeland after they put the first run on the board on Tuesday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of Pleasantville by a score of 4-3.
Lakeland saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ramzi Done, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run. That home run was Done's first of the season. Another was Alex Mautone, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Croton-Harmon). They put the hurt on Hendrick Hudson with a sharp 22-9 victory on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Andrew Kim made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over 5.2 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Sam Levine was a standout: he went 4-for-5 with four runs, two stolen bases, and four RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Harry Kahn, who got on base in all six of his plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Croton-Harmon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .623. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Croton-Harmon pushed their record up to 8-3 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Lakeland, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lakeland has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Croton-Harmon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lakeland came up short against Croton-Harmon when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 8-4. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
