Middletown is 2-8 against Newburgh Free Academy since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Middie Bears will take on the Goldbacks at 4:15 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Middletown took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They never let Rondout Valley get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory.
The team relied heavily on Jarod Melendez, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Daniel Aviles also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Newburgh Free Academy entered their tilt with Tallwood on Friday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Lions 10-0. The match marked the Goldbacks' most dominant win of the season so far.
Connor Hollenbeck looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Newburgh Free Academy's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Antonio Vinciguerra, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. JJ McCoy was another, getting on base in both of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Newburgh Free Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .577. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tallwood only posted an OBP of .211.
Newburgh Free Academy's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Middletown, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.
Middletown suffered a grim 12-6 defeat to Newburgh Free Academy in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Middie Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
