Baseball Game Preview: Dunellen Destroyers vs. Highland Park Owls

The Dunellen Destroyers will challenge the Highland Park Owls at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Dunellen is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.

Dunellen lost a heartbreaker the last time they played New Brunswick, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Tuesday's matchup. The Destroyers blew past the Zebra 13-7 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Destroyers.

Ryan Hutchins

Earned Runs

04/10/25 @ New Brunswick	4
04/02/25 vs Manville	2

Ryan Hutchins and Danny Watts were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Hutchins tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Watts struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Hutchins also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Dunellen is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 1-2 otherwise. At the plate, Hutchins scored a run while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances, while Watts scored two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. That's the most runs Watts has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Joseph Reyes, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those hits were his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Dow, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Dunellen kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Highland Park was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They came up short against Dunellen, falling 7-0. The contest marked the first time this year in which the Owls were not able to get on the board.

The win got Dunellen back to even at 3-3. As for Highland Park, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.

Everything went Dunellen's way against Highland Park when the teams last played on Monday, as Dunellen made off with a 7-0 victory. Will the Destroyers repeat their success, or do the Owls have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.