Wilkes-Barre hasn't had much luck against Hazleton Area recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Wolfpack are taking a road trip to challenge the Cougars at 4:30 p.m. Wilkes-Barre will be strutting in after a win while Hazleton Area will be coming in after a defeat.
Wilkes-Barre will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Wyoming Valley West, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Wolfpack came out on top against the Spartans by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since May 23, 2023, but that streak is no more.
Wilkes-Barre's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Flowers, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 13 runs the game before, Hazleton Area was a bit more limited in their game on Saturday. They fell just short of Emmaus by a score of 3-2. The match marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Hazleton Area also got a good showing from Jack Esposito, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. Esposito has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Ryan Racho was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases and two runs.
Wilkes-Barre pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Hazleton Area, their loss ended a nine-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 6-3.
Wilkes-Barre suffered a grim 16-3 defeat to Hazleton Area in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Wolfpack avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps