Part of original story from Shore Sports Network: Matt Manley

The seventh-seeded Middletown High School North Baseball team won its sixth straight game with a 16-3 victory over 26th-seeded Henry Hudson High School in the play-in round of the Shore Conference Tournament at Rich Veth Field in Middletown, NJ yesterday.

Middletown North (11-6) will now host 10th-seeded Ocean Township in the first round on Saturday. The loss, was a recent oddity for either team as both team have gone 11-2 combined over their past 13 games.  Henry Hudson (9-6) has lost for only the second time in seven games.  The Lions are heating up at the right time and will look to use the experience from last year’s returning starters to make a deep playoff push.

Last season, Middletown North went 5-8 in April, then went 16-2 the rest of the way to win the NJSIAA Group III champion. The Lions are again making May moves, winning their first five games of the month after going 5-6 in April. Middletown North’s turnaround actually started in April, with the Lions winning eight of nine after a 2-5 start.

Middletown North has had consistently decent pitching during its hot streak, but it has been the bats that have carried the Lions. Outside of Colin Dowlen dominating opponents from the mound, that was also the case last year when Middletown North made its run and the Lions are now averaging 8.4 runs per game during the current nine-game surge.