The Buena Chiefs will venture away from home to square off against the St. Joseph Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, Buena needed a bit of extra time to put away Atlantic County Institute of Tech. They put the hurt on Atlantic County Institute of Tech with a sharp 9-3 win. The victory continues a trend for the Chiefs in their matchups with Atlantic County Institute of Tech: they've now won six in a row.
Dylan O'Connell
| 04/23/25 @ Atlantic County Institute of Tech | 8 |
| 04/14/25 vs Atlantic Christian | 4 |
| 03/29/25 @ Gateway Regional | 3 |
| 03/26/25 @ Lower Cape May | 1 |
Dylan O'Connell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over 7.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Buena: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least three hits, but 4-6 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaevon Alexander, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases and two RBI. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jalexis Agosto-Sanchez, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
While St. Joseph didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. Everything went their way against The Pilgrim Academy on Thursday as they made off with a 12-1 win.
St. Joseph got a big performance out of Bobby Butkus, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Cassidy, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
St. Joseph has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Buena, the win got them back to even at 7-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Buena has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like St. Joseph struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Buena came out on top in a nail-biter against St. Joseph when the teams last played back in May of 2023, sneaking past 3-2. Do the Chiefs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
