Baseball Game Preview: Steel Valley Ironmen vs. Shady Side Academy Bulldogs

The Steel Valley Ironmen will square off against the Shady Side Academy Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Steel Valley will be strutting in after a victory while Shady Side Academy will be coming in after a defeat.

Steel Valley came out on top against Sewickley Academy on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run sixth inning. The Ironmen took their matchup against Sewickley Academy 10-5.

Jorden Smith

Stolen Base

03/18/25 vs McKeesport	3
04/17/25 @ Sewickley Academy	2
04/04/25 vs Sto-Rox	2
03/31/25 vs Avonworth	2
04/15/25 @ South Park	1
+ 3 more games

Logan Thomas and Jorden Smith did most of the damage at the plate: Thomas went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double, while Smith went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Smith is becoming a predictor of Steel Valley's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 3-1 (and 4-5 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Adrian Briston, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.

Steel Valley hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sewickley Academy struck out ten times.

Meanwhile, Shady Side Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They lost 7-0 to Avonworth.

Shady Side Academy saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ty McCaskey, who went 1-for-2 with one double.

Steel Valley now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Shady Side Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-11.

Shady Side Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Steel Valley has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .446. It's a different story for Shady Side Academy, though, as they've only averaged .347. Will they be able to contain Steel Valley's hitters?

Steel Valley couldn't quite finish off Shady Side Academy in their previous meeting back in May of 2018 and fell 6-4. Can the Ironmen avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.