The Pemberton Hornets are taking a road trip to challenge the Westampton Tech Panthers at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. Pemberton has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with four straight losses, while Westampton Tech will come in with six straight victories.
Wednesday just wasn't the day for Pemberton's offense. They came up short against Riverside last Wednesday, falling 13-0. The game marked the first time this season in which the Hornets were not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Westampton Tech). They were the clear victors by a 20-8 margin over Willingboro on Thursday. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by eight runs or more this season.
Jael Espinal Sanchez made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all six of his plate appearances with six stolen bases, four runs, and one double. Those six stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Westampton Tech got a massive performance out of Austin Mochernuk, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those four RBI gave Mochernuk a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeret Torres, who got on base in three of his six plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
Westampton Tech always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .551. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Westampton Tech's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.6 runs over those games. As for Pemberton, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Pemberton suffered a grim 17-7 defeat to Westampton Tech when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
