The St. Mary Gaels will face off against the Rutherford Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While St. Mary's win against North Arlington wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Gaels narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Vikings 5-3. The Gaels haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive win against them.
Meanwhile, Rutherford entered their tilt with Secaucus on Tuesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They never let the Patriots get on the board and left with a 16-0 victory. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by ten runs or more this season.
Logan Bohn was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Bohn was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other pitching news, Trey Whitford looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
Back at the plate, Troy Waddell was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. John Gioia was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
Rutherford always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Secaucus only posted an OBP of .167.
St. Mary's win bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Rutherford, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
St. Mary came out on top in a nail-biter against Rutherford in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Gaels repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
