Monticello is on a six-game streak of home losses, and Minisink Valley a five-game streak of away losses dating back to last season. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Monday. The Monticello Panthers will welcome the Minisink Valley Warriors at 4:15 p.m. Monticello has given up an average of 14.3 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Things were looking good for Monticello after they put the first run on the board on Thursday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They came up short against Valley Central, falling 12-2.
Monticello saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Seth Jackson, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. That hit was Jackson's first of the season.
Meanwhile, Minisink Valley was able to grind out a solid win over Warwick on Wednesday, taking the game 9-6.
Christopher McCauley was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up five earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. He is becoming a predictor of Minisink Valley's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is undefeated (and 2-6 when he doesn't). McCauley was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one double, and one RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Nik Marrero was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lewis Conner, who earned one RBI, one run, and one stolen base.
Minisink Valley has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Monticello, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.
Monticello might still be hurting after the 18-1 defeat they got from Minisink Valley in their previous matchup back in April. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
