Baseball Game Preview: Union Catholic Vikings vs. New Providence Pioneers

Union Catholic is 1-9 against New Providence since May of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Vikings will be playing in front of their home fans against the Pioneers at 4:00 p.m. New Providence took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Union Catholic, who comes in off a win.

Union Catholic hadn't beaten Cranford on the road since April 26, 2016 but that history sure didn't bother them on Tuesday. The Vikings walked away with a 7-4 win over the Cougars.

Nick Anderson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits and racked up seven Ks.

At the plate, Josiah Shapre was incredible, going 2-for-4 with four stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Luiggi Sacca, who went 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Union Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cranford only managed five hits.

Meanwhile, New Providence was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They lost 15-3 to Governor Livingston.

New Providence saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Michael Schmidt, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double. That double was Schmidt's first of the season.

Union Catholic's victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-4. As for New Providence, their loss dropped their record down to 2-11.

Union Catholic skirted past New Providence 4-2 in their previous meeting back in April. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Pioneers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.