The Pompton Lakes Cardinals will square off against the Montville Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pompton Lakes will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Pompton Lakes is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Manchester Regional a 21-0 shutout on Monday. Considering the Cardinals have won five contests by more than eight runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Jon Popovich made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Popovich was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Chad McConnell
| 04/28/25 @ Manchester Regional | 5 |
| 04/23/25 vs Leonia | 2 |
| 04/05/25 vs Cedar Grove | 2 |
| 04/25/25 @ Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology | 1 |
| 04/17/25 @ Emerson | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Chad McConnell, who fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-3. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Tim Riche, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
Pompton Lakes always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Manchester Regional only posted an OBP of .250.
Columbia hit Montville with a four-run first inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mustangs fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 5-4.
Kyle Cinella was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Richie Mattina was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That stolen base was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Del Guidice, who went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Pompton Lakes' victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.0 runs over those games. As for Montville, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Montville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pompton Lakes has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .479. It's a different story for Montville, though, as they've only averaged .325. Will they be able to contain Pompton Lakes' hitters?
Pompton Lakes skirted past Montville 6-4 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Mustangs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
