Baseball Preview: Sickles Gryphons vs. Gaither Cowboys
Sickles is 10-0 against Gaither since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Sickles Gryphons will square off against the Gaither Cowboys at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Sickles is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Largo with a sharp 16-6 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Sickles considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
Cameron Guise made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Guise has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Guise was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and a double.
In other pitching news, Nick Hartley looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Jordan Yost, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, a triple, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Bynum, who scored three runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Gaither entered their tilt with Armwood with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Everything went their way against the Hawks on Tuesday as they made off with a 9-1 victory.
Zach Callahan and Noah Lockler dominated on the mound. Callahan pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits, while Lockler pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Gaither got a massive performance out of Angel Hernandez, who went 2-for-2 with three runs, a triple, and a double. Hernandez continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Jackson Mirza was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Sickles' record now sits at 21-7. As for Gaither, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sickles has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gaither struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Sickles' way against Gaither when the teams last played back in March as Sickles made off with an 18-2 win. Will Sickles repeat their success, or does Gaither have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
