The Hamilton Heights Huskies will square off against the Delta Eagles at 12:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hamilton Heights is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Yorktown 4-3. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Huskies.
Nick Hulen spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned runs on six hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Josh Newton, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Delta had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.7 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They blew past the Patriots 10-0. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine games by six runs or more this season.
Kaeb Stebbins made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over six innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one triple and one RBI.
In other batting news, Chase Ritchie was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double. Brady Williams was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Delta was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .412. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in four consecutive contests.
Hamilton Heights' record now sits at 10-18. As for Delta, their record is now 20-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hamilton Heights has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Delta struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hamilton Heights came out on top in a nail-biter against Delta when the teams last played back in May of 2021, sneaking past 2-0. Will the Huskies repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
