The St. Joseph Regional Green Knights will square off against the Wayne Valley Indians at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. St. Joseph Regional's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so Wayne Valley's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
St. Joseph Regional is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: Don Bosco Prep, who was ranked sixth at the time (St. Joseph Regional was ranked 21st). The Green Knights took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Ironmen on Wednesday. The match marked the first time this year in which the Green Knights were not able to get on the board.
St. Joseph Regional got a good showing from Neylin Navarro, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Meanwhile, Wayne Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Wayne Hills on Wednesday and fell 6-5.
Christian Varano was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with three runs and two doubles. He is becoming a predictor of Wayne Valley's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 2-1 (and 2-4 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Ryan Luzzi, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
St. Joseph Regional has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 12-6 record this season. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Wayne Valley, their defeat was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 4-5.
Wayne Valley's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Joseph Regional has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .434. It's a different story for Wayne Valley, though, as they've only averaged .323. Will they be able to contain St. Joseph Regional's hitters? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
