The Leonia Lions will face off against the New Milford Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Leonia fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Pompton Lakes on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 5-4. The Lions have struggled against the Cardinals recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but New Milford ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Hawthorne Christian 9-8.
Matthew Mulligan was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because New Milford is undefeated when he allows at most three earned runs, but 3-5 otherwise. Mulligan was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Liam Block was incredible, going a perfect 5-for-5 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Those five hits gave him a new career-high. Andy Aviles was another key player, going 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
New Milford kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 11.
New Milford now has a winning record of 6-5. As for Leonia, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-10.
Everything went Leonia's way against New Milford in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Leonia made off with a 14-3 victory. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
