The North Schuylkill Spartans will face off against the Pine Grove Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. North Schuylkill is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
North Schuylkill barely beat Panther Valley the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Spartans were the clear victors by a 10-2 margin over the Panthers on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Spartans.
Kolton Joyce
| 04/01/25 @ Panther Valley | 3 |
| 03/27/25 vs Blue Mountain | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Tri-Valley | 1 |
| 05/22/24 @ Blue Mountain | 1 |
| 05/09/24 @ Danville | 1 |
Kolton Joyce was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Joyce was also big at the plate, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aaron Brayford, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Mark Monahan, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Pine Grove beat Pottsville 6-3 on Tuesday. The Cardinals haven't had any issues with the Crimson Tide recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.
Like North Schuylkill, Pine Grove also got a great game from a two-way player: Carson Lengle. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Lengle was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Chandler Sirbaugh was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
Pine Grove now has a winning record of 4-3. As for North Schuylkill, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-3.
North Schuylkill couldn't quite get it done against Pine Grove when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 12-9. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
