Baseball Preview: Hickory Hornets vs. Slippery Rock Rockets
Hickory and Slippery Rock are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Hickory Hornets will head out on the road to face off against the Slippery Rock Rockets at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Hickory is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Hickory took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Franklin.
Matthew Myers looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
At the plate, Joey Cidila and Landon Koerth did most of the damage at the plate: Cidila went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and a double, while Koerth scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Slippery Rock waltzed into their matchup on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 6-3 win over the Lancers. Six seems to be a good number for Slippery Rock as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
The team relied heavily on Connor Zorn, who scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Ryan Double was another key contributor, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI.
The win got Hickory back to even at 3-3. As for Slippery Rock, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hickory has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Slippery Rock struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Hickory was able to grind out a solid win over Slippery Rock when the teams last played back in May of 2023, winning 13-8. Will Hickory repeat their success, or does Slippery Rock have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
