The Goshen Central Gladiators will face off against the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Goshen Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Goshen Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Monticello on Wednesday as they made off with a 25-1 win. The Gladiators have beaten the Panthers the last eight times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Panthers has come to flipping the script.
Anthony Crispino and Grant Musson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Crispino tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Musson pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At bat, Crispino went 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run, while Musson went 1-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
Stephen Kovacs
| 04/30/25 @ Monticello | 5 |
| 04/09/25 @ Cornwall Central | 3 |
| 05/20/24 @ Valley Central | 3 |
| 04/23/25 vs Washingtonville | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Port Jervis | 2 |
In other batting news, Stephen Kovacs and F Mitterbauer did most of the damage at the plate: Kovacs fired off six RBI, three runs, and three doubles while going 5-for-5, while Mitterbauer got on base in five of his six plate appearances with four runs, five RBI, and one stolen base. Those five hits gave Kovacs a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Marc Smith, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four runs and one RBI.
Goshen Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .646. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Friday as neither Newburgh Free Academy nor Middletown made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Goldbacks came out on top against the Middie Bears by a score of 3-2 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last three times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Edwin Nunez looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Newburgh Free Academy's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chris Leggett, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Newburgh Free Academy is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Goshen Central, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Goshen Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Newburgh Free Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Goshen Central came out on top in a nail-biter against Newburgh Free Academy when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Gladiators repeat their success, or do the Goldbacks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
