The Newton Falls Tigers will face off against the Bristol Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Newton Falls' favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Bristol has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
On Wednesday, Newton Falls came up short against Southeast and fell 6-1.
Leland Vargo put in work while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off four hits. What's more, he gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Vargo wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Cameron Huff, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. That stolen base marked the first that Huff snagged this season.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last contest, Bristol made sure to put some runs up on the board against Lordstown on Wednesday. The Panthers came out on top against the Red Devils by a score of 11-1 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Red Devils recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Like Newton Falls, Bristol also got a great game from a two-way player: Kaiden Kohler. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, Kohler posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Bristol let Ronald Imhoff and Keifer Swager run wild. Imhoff scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances, while Swager went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Croc Thorp, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Newton Falls' loss dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Bristol, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 2-4.
Newton Falls was able to grind out a solid victory over Bristol when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 5-2. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
