vs
| 04/16/25 - Away | 6-5 W |
| 05/10/24 - Away | 6-2 W |
| 04/19/24 - Home | 19-4 W |
| 05/12/23 - Home | 12-5 W |
| 04/24/23 - Away | 2-6 L |
| + 3 more games |
Hopewell-Loudon is 7-1 against St. Mary Central Catholic since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Chieftains will look to defend their home field against the Panthers at 5:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Hopewell-Loudon's favor as the team sits on five straight wins at home while St. Mary Central Catholic has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
On Wednesday, Hopewell-Loudon got the win against St. Joseph Central Catholic by a conclusive 9-1. The Chieftains might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by eight runs or more this season.
Austin Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Hopewell-Loudon got a massive performance out of Kellen Frankart, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Braylon Martinez, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, three RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, St. Mary Central Catholic didn't have quite enough to beat Gibsonburg on Wednesday and fell 5-4.
St. Mary Central Catholic also got a good showing from Toby Gibson, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
At the plate, Cayden Wikel and Blake Finneran did some serious damage despite the final result: Wikel went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI, while Finneran got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
St. Mary Central Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Hopewell-Loudon, their win bumped their record up to 14-4.
St. Mary Central Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hopewell-Loudon has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .444. It's a different story for St. Mary Central Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .357. Will they be able to contain Hopewell-Loudon's hitters?
Hopewell-Loudon skirted past St. Mary Central Catholic 6-5 when the teams last played back in April. Will the Chieftains repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
