The Pleasant Valley Bears will venture away from home to challenge the Stroudsburg Mountaineers at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pleasant Valley will be strutting in after a victory while Stroudsburg will be coming in after a loss.
Pleasant Valley took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They walked away with a 7-3 win over Tamaqua. The Bears' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Mason Goff was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Gavin Bates also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Stroudsburg was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat dating back to last season. They fell 4-0 to Whitehall. That's two games in a row now that the Mountaineers have lost by exactly four runs.
Stroudsburg also got a good showing from Brian Kitchell, who struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Kitchell has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Stroudsburg saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Damian Budhai, who went 2-for-3 with one double.
Pleasant Valley's victory bumped their record up to 2-3. As for Stroudsburg, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
Pleasant Valley's speedy runners might be the difference in Tuesday's matchup. The Bears have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Stroudsburg, though, as they've been averaging only 0.8 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Pleasant Valley continue to outrun the ball?
Pleasant Valley couldn't quite get it done against Stroudsburg when the teams last played back in May of 2025 as they fell 6-3. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
