The Brookfield Bobcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Bunnell Bulldogs at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. Brookfield knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with ten runs or more in their past three matchups -- so hopefully Bunnell likes a good challenge.
On Friday, Brookfield got the win against Stratford by a conclusive 13-1. The victory continues a trend for the Bobcats in their matchups with the Red Devils: they've now won six in a row.
Matt McDowell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Matt Ackerly, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. PJ Colla was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run.
Brookfield was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .455. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .407 or higher in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Bunnell's offense. They lost 8-0 to Pomperaug on Friday. The Bulldogs have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Brookfield pushed their record up to 8-1 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Bunnell, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-3.
Brookfield was able to grind out a solid win over Bunnell when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bobcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
