Baseball Preview: Paulding Panthers vs. Hilltop Cadets
The Paulding Panthers will look to defend their home field on Monday against the Hilltop Cadets at 5:00 p.m. Paulding will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
On Saturday, everything went Paulding's way against Jefferson as Paulding made off with an 11-1 victory. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win Paulding has managed all season.
Paulding's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Patrick Paholak, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two doubles, and a run. Another player making a difference was Hunter Couts, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but Hilltop had to settle for a 7-6 loss against Delta on Friday.
Wade Wagner put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Wagner has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Wagner was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Cameron Shimp made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with three RBI and a triple. Cameron Schlosser was another key contributor, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Paulding's win bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Hilltop, their defeat ended a six-game streak of away wins and brought them to 10-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Paulding has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hilltop struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Paulding was able to grind out a solid victory over Hilltop in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, winning 10-6. Does Paulding have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hilltop turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
