The Union Catholic Vikings will square off against the Cranford Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Friday, Union Catholic didn't have quite enough to beat Summit and fell 6-4. The defeat continues a trend for the Vikings in their meetings with the Hilltoppers: they've now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, Cranford entered their tilt with New Providence on Friday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They walked away with a 5-1 win over the Pioneers.
Gabe Arato spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits. 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, the team relied heavily on Brayden Fry, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Quinn Smith, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
Cranford pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Union Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.
Union Catholic beat Cranford 6-3 in their previous matchup on April 4th. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
