Baseball Game Preview: Johnstown-Monroe Johnnies vs. Buckeye Valley Barons

Johnstown-Monroe is 0-3 against Buckeye Valley since May of 2022 but things could change on Saturday. The Johnnies will welcome the Barons at 12:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

While Johnstown-Monroe didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They had just enough and edged out Utica 4-3 on Friday. Those four runs were actually the fewest the Johnnies have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.

Johnstown-Monroe got a great performance from Garrett Penrod as he struck out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits.

Erik Marohl

Hits (Career)

04/11/25 vs Utica	4
05/13/24 vs River Valley	2
05/07/24 @ Centerburg	2
04/24/24 vs Licking Heights	2
04/19/24 vs Lakewood	2

On the hitting side, Erik Marohl was excellent, scoring a run while going 4-for-4. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Myers, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Valley earned a 5-2 win over Grandview Heights on Friday. The victory continues a trend for the Barons in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now won eight in a row.

Buckeye Valley's win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-2-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Johnstown-Monroe, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.

Johnstown-Monroe couldn't quite get it done against Buckeye Valley in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 as they fell 7-4. Will the Johnnies have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.