The Lacey Township Lions will take on the Manchester Township Hawks at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Neither Lacey Township nor Manchester Township posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.
Lacey Township took a ten-run loss the last time they faced off against Brick Memorial, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Lions never let the Mustangs get on the board and left with a 1-0 win on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Bella Byk
| 04/29/25 vs Brick Memorial | 7 |
| 04/17/25 @ Point Pleasant Beach | 10 |
| 04/14/25 vs Point Pleasant Beach | 14 |
| 04/03/25 vs Barnegat | 16 |
| 03/26/25 @ Manalapan | 9 |
Not much got past Bella Byk, who gave up just four hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Brick Memorial off the board. Byk has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Nicole Scheper was excellent, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Madison Feldman also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Manchester Township's offense. They came up short against Barnegat on Tuesday, falling 7-0. The Hawks haven't had much luck with the Bengals recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Gabriella Minneci spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered seven runs (all of which were unearned) on eight hits and racked up seven Ks. Those seven strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
Lacey Township pushed their record up to 6-7 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Manchester Township, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-10.
Manchester Township's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lacey Township hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. It's a different story for Manchester Township, though, as they've only averaged .236. Will they be able to contain Lacey Township's hitters?
Lacey Township skirted past Manchester Township 6-4 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Hawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
