Wellington is 2-7 against Keystone since May of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Dukes will head out to challenge the Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. Wellington is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Wellington will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Monday, then bounced right back against Clearview on Tuesday. The Dukes came out on top against the Clippers by a score of 13-9. The win continues a trend for the Dukes in their matchups with the Clippers: they've now won nine in a row.
Gabe Toth and Trey Moore made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Toth didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Moore pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Toth also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Wellington is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-5 otherwise. At the plate, Toth went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double, while Moore went 1-for-5 with two RBI, one run, and one double. That double marked the first that Toth has hit this season.
Connor Sheppard
| 04/22/25 vs Clearview | 4 |
| 04/07/25 @ Clearview | 2 |
| 03/31/25 @ Western Reserve | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Firelands | 1 |
| 04/14/25 vs Columbia | 1 |
In other batting news, Wellington got a massive performance out of Connor Sheppard, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs. Those four stolen bases gave Sheppard a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brandon Perez, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Wellington hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Clearview struck out nine times.
Meanwhile, Keystone came tearing into Tuesday's contest with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.9 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Falcons a 7-0 shutout. While the Wildcats didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-11), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Keystone's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Wellington, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Wellington suffered a grim 12-4 defeat to Keystone in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Dukes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
