Baseball Preview: Loveland Tigers vs. Walnut Hills Eagles
The Loveland Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the Walnut Hills Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Loveland's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Walnut Hills' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Loveland is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Lebanon just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 2-0. The match marked the first time this season in which Loveland was not able to get on the board.
Loveland got a good showing from Max Harper, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Harper has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Meanwhile, Walnut Hills has not done well against Milford recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Walnut Hills put the hurt on Milford with a sharp 9-2 win. Winning may never get old, but Walnut Hills sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Alex Conrad was incredible, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Woodfork, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with a stolen base and two RBI.
Loveland's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-5. As for Walnut Hills, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-4 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Loveland has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Walnut Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Loveland came out on top in a nail-biter against Walnut Hills in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Will Loveland repeat their success, or does Walnut Hills have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
