The South Adams Starfires will venture away from home to take on the Monroe Central Golden Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While South Adams' win against Whitko wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Starfires skirted past the Wildcats 9-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Starfires.
Kaleb Minger was excellent, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 1 stolen bases per game. Derek Weaver also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, while Monroe Central put up some runs on Friday, the same can't be said for Blackford. The Golden Bears blew past the Bruins 10-0. The result was nothing new for the Golden Bears, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Carter Duncan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over five innings pitched. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Monroe Central is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 9-12 otherwise. Duncan was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one double.
In other batting news, Monroe Central let Caleb Luedike and Isaac Middleton run wild. Luedike went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three doubles, and two RBI, while Middleton went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI Middleton has posted since back in May of 2024. Kyler Bogue was another key player, going 1-for-3 with four RBI and one triple.
Monroe Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Monroe Central's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-13. As for South Adams, their record is now 5-16.
South Adams came out on top in a nail-biter against Monroe Central when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Starfires since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
