Hopkins is on a three-game streak of home losses, and King a nine-game streak of away losses dating back to last season. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Tuesday. The Hopkins Hilltoppers will look to defend their home field against the King Vikings at 4:30 p.m. Hopkins is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
16 must be Hopkins' lucky number: they beat Wooster with that score not once but twice on Monday. The Hilltoppers beat the Generals by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 16-4. Considering the Hilltoppers have won seven contests by more than six runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Sean Studley made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Hopkins is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 8-10 otherwise. Studley was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with two stolen bases and one run. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Rocco DeMaio III
| 05/07/25 @ King | 3 |
| 05/12/25 @ Wooster | 2 |
| 05/12/25 @ Tournament Opponent | 2 |
| 04/16/25 vs Northfield Mount Hermon | 2 |
| 04/10/25 vs Brunswick School | 2 |
| + 8 more games |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rocco DeMaio III, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Hopkins is 6-1 when DeMaio III posts two or more runs, but 5-9 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Tommy O'Connell, who went 1-for-5 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Hopkins kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, King didn't have quite enough to beat Hopkins on Saturday and fell 5-4.
Hopkins is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for King, their loss dropped their record down to 1-14.
Hopkins came out on top in a nail-biter against King in their previous meeting on Saturday, sneaking past 5-4. Will the Hilltoppers repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
