Baseball Game Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Harmony Area Owls

West Branch is a perfect 9-0 against Harmony Area since May of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Warriors will be playing in front of their home fans against the Owls at 4:30 p.m. Harmony Area took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on West Branch, who comes in off a win.

West Branch proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by 14) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Claysburg-Kimmel 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Warriors have posted since May 14, 2024.

Lukas Colton made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. He has become a key player for West Branch: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 2-4 otherwise.

Coby Kephart

Runs

04/24/25 vs Claysburg-Kimmel	2
04/17/25 @ Bucktail	2
04/01/25 vs Curwensville	2
03/25/25 @ Williamsburg	2
04/22/25 @ Glendale	1
+ 4 more games

Colton wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Coby Kephart, who went 2-for-3 with two runs. Kephart is becoming a predictor of West Branch's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't).

Meanwhile, Harmony Area was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 4-3 heartbreaker at the hands of Shanksville Stonycreek.

West Branch is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Harmony Area, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.

Everything went West Branch's way against Harmony Area in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as West Branch made off with a 22-1 win. Will the Warriors repeat their success, or do the Owls have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.