The Somerset Patriots kicked off the 2025 Minor League Baseball season with a mini-series against the Hartford Yard Goats from April 4th to April 8th. The series concluded with Somerset having a record of 1-2 after three close matches. Not long after, the Patriots began their first complete series of the season against the Reading Fightin Phils, where they went 3-3 vs. the Fightin Phils. Overall, this has brought their record to 4-5, and they currently stand fourth in the Eastern League Northeast.
The season’s first game against the Yard Goats ended in a 5-4 loss. The Patriots earned two runs in both the sixth and the seventh innings, getting them to four total, yet they fell short to Hartford, whose breakthrough occurred in the eighth after scoring three runs. Combined with the one run earned in the first and ninth innings, the Yard Goats ultimately came out on top for the April 4th matchup.
On April 5th, the teams returned for the second game of the series, with the Patriots taking this one for their first win of the 2025 season. The Patriots earned two runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, ultimately conquering the Yard Goats, who picked up a run in the sixth and seventh. This game ended with the Patriots winning 6-2, evening the series at one game apiece.
On April 6th, the Patriots faced the Yard Goats for the last time in the series, but they couldn’t take this one home. The Yard Goats immediately took the lead after earning four runs in the first, an impressive 10 runs in the fifth and two in the seventh. The Patriots could not come back and only earned five runs in the fifth, which was not enough to combat the Yard Goats that night.
The series finale ended in a 2-1 loss for the Patriots, with the Hartford Yard Goats taking home the victory.
Despite their series defeat against the Yard Goats, the team moved on to face the Reading Fightin Phils for a six-game series. Despite a rescheduling due to weather, these games occurred from April 8th to the 13th.
The team’s first game against the Phils ended in a close 5-4 defeat. The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Patriots pulled off two runs, giving them a lead. In the sixth, both teams picked up a single run, bringing the score to 3-1. After the Patriots scored another run in the eighth, the Phils did not accept defeat but instead pulled out four runs, ultimately winning this first matchup.
The second game ended with a similar result to the first, with the Patriots falling once again to the Phils, 3-1. Despite an initial lead taken in the first by Somerset, earning one run to keep them on top for the next three innings, the Phils fought back. In the fifth inning, the Phils came out with one run, and in the next frame, they picked up another two runs.
After taking two losses back-to-back, the Patriots finally found their groove and ultimately took home a 4-1 win against the Phils. Commonly seen in their recent matchups, the Patriots took an early lead with two runs earned in the second. Yet, instead of slowing down, the team pursued scoring once again in the fifth and the seventh. With only one run scored in the fifth, the Fightin Phils fell for their first time this season against the Somerset Patriots, who took home a win on the 10th.
On April 12th, the Patriots faced the Phils for the fourth time in this series and took back a second win. The Patriots steadily gained ground on their opponent, earning two runs in the first, five in the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth. The team ended the game with ten total runs. The Phils played a good game but couldn’t keep up with the Patriots that day. The Phils earned one run in the first, fourth, and sixth, and two in the seventh. The game ended with the Patriots earning another win, the final score being 10-5.
After a rescheduling from a weather-based cancellation for the April 11th game, the team took on the Fightin Phils once again on the 12th. This didn’t stop the Patriots, and they earned another 4- 1 win for the books. The Fightin Phils came in early with a run in the first, and after three scoreless innings, the Patriots returned with two runs in the fifth and sixth. The score remained for the rest of the game, giving the Patriots their third straight win of the series.
After a Patriots winning streak of three, the Phils came in for the final matchup of the series with high hopes. The game began with the Phils getting an early edge after scoring a run in the first. Yet a one-run lead was no concern for the Patriots, who scored three times in the third, taking the game into their own hands. Despite this, the Phils were not going down so quickly and scored twice in the fifth and once in the sixth inning (4-3), taking the lead back for themselves. As their battle continued, the Patriots came back in the seventh inning to get another three runs, now on a run for another victory. They were shut down soon after, as the Phils earned four more runs across the 8th and 9th innings. Only scoring once in the 8th wasn’t enough for the Patriots to take home the win that night, leaving the score for that day 8-7.
After the Phils win, the series concluded with a score of 3-3, both teams taking home three victories each.
The Patriots are currently 4-5 and look forward to their next series against the Altoona Curve. The Curve is currently ranked fifth in the Eastern League Southwest, holding a record of 3-6. Can the Patriots increase their record, or will they face another loss? Find out in the series on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
