The Hastings Yellow Jackets will head out on the road to face off against the Putnam Valley Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hastings is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Briarcliff, sneaking past 4-2. Surprisingly, this marked the Yellow Jackets' sixth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Kieran McGrath
| 04/22/25 vs Valhalla | 2 |
| 05/28/25 @ Briarcliff | 1 |
| 05/21/25 vs Blind Brook | 1 |
| 05/10/25 @ Briarcliff | 1 |
| 04/28/25 vs Tuckahoe | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
The team relied heavily on Kieran McGrath, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run and two RBI. He has become a key player for Hastings: the team is undefeated when he posts at least one home run, but 7-10 otherwise. Andrew Rizzo was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, Putnam Valley entered their tilt with Hastings on Tuesday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They blew past the Yellow Jackets 10-0. Considering the Tigers have won 13 contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Putnam Valley also got a great performance from Eli Pierce as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Pierce has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Sean Carroll was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aaron Pierre, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Putnam Valley's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-4. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Hastings, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 14-10 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hastings has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Putnam Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hastings might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Putnam Valley in their previous matchup on Tuesday. Can the Yellow Jackets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
