New Providence had lost four straight on the road, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 2-12 to make it five. They came up short against the Union Catholic Vikings, falling 8-2. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Vikings this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 4-2 back in April.
As for Union Catholic, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games.
For Union Catholic's part, Chris Tortorella spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on six hits. Tortorella has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Union Catholic got a massive performance out of Chris Wilson, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave Wilson a new career-high. Josiah Shapre was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs.
Coming up, New Providence will welcome Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The last three games the Raiders have played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one. As for Union Catholic, they will head out to challenge Bayonne at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Vikings are facing the Bees at the right time seeing as the Bees are stuck on a four-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
