The Hastings Yellow Jackets will face off against the Rye Neck Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Hastings' pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Rye Neck's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Hastings' pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against The Leffell School as they made off with a 10-0 victory. The Yellow Jackets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by eight runs or more this season.
Andrew Ciszewski tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched.
Dylan Heilakka
| 05/05/26 vs The Leffell School | 3 |
| 04/28/26 vs Dobbs Ferry | 1 |
| 04/28/25 vs Tuckahoe | 1 |
| 04/24/25 @ Valhalla | 1 |
| 04/15/25 @ Pawling | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dylan Heilakka, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Johnny Sbrega, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, Rye Neck had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against the Trojans.
Davey Ryan made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up four earned runs off six hits. Ryan was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Ryan wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Ben Gellman, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Hastings' win bumped their record up to 11-7. As for Rye Neck, their victory bumped their record up to 10-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hastings has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Rye Neck struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Hastings' way against Rye Neck when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Hastings made off with a 16-3 win. Do the Yellow Jackets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
