If Cranford was feeling good off their 10-0 takedown of Johnson last Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Cranford Cougars fell just short of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders by a score of 9-7 on Thursday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Cranford of the 4-1 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April.
Cranford got a good showing from Michael Zalinkanskas, who pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Zalinkanskas has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Dennis McCaffery was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run.
On Scotch Plains-Fanwood's side, Matt Capozzolo looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Chris Kennedy, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Jack Sponheimer, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Cranford's defeat dropped their record down to 9-6. As for Scotch Plains-Fanwood, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season.
Cranford will square off against Old Bridge at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Old Bridge's pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Cranford's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Scotch Plains-Fanwood, they will head out on the road to challenge St. Thomas Aquinas at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Scotch Plains-Fanwood is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
