The West Carteret Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the J.H. Rose Rampants at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
West Carteret is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest loss since March 26, 2024 on Thursday. They lost 10-2 to Hoggard.
West Carteret saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lincoln Strump, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. Austin Robinson Jr also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, J.H. Rose had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-2 victory over the Bears.
Parker Simo tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Ethan Simmons was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and one stolen base while going 4-for-4. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in home runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Roberson, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-2.
J.H. Rose kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive games.
J.H. Rose pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for West Carteret, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. West Carteret has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like J.H. Rose struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
West Carteret might still be hurting after the 11-1 loss they got from J.H. Rose in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Can West Carteret avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
