The Monmouth Academy Mustangs will take on the Winthrop Ramblers at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Monmouth Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Oak Hill with a sharp 14-3 win on Wednesday. Winning may never get old, but the Mustangs sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Meanwhile, Winthrop got themselves on the board against Maine Central Institute on Wednesday, but Maine Central Institute never followed suit. They blew past the Huskies 8-0. The victory was some much needed relief for the Ramblers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Trent Collin made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He also allowed no hits, which is notable because Winthrop is undefeated when he allows at most two hits, but 2-5 otherwise. Collin was also big at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Those stolen bases marked the first that he has snagged this season.
In other batting news, Winthrop let Jaxon August and Braden Branagan run wild. August earned two RBI, one run, and one stolen base, while Branagan went 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. Branagan is becoming a predictor of Winthrop's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-5 when he doesn't).
Monmouth Academy pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Winthrop, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
Everything went Monmouth Academy's way against Winthrop when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Monmouth Academy made off with an 8-1 victory. Do the Mustangs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Ramblers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
