The Aurora Greenmen will challenge the Independence Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Aurora has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while Independence will arrive with five straight victories.
Aurora had taken Barberton down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Tuesday. The Greenmen fell 7-3 to the Magics.
Aurora saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Scott, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double. Aydan Carlson also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Independence got the win against Orange on Monday by a conclusive 13-3. Considering the Blue Devils have won 12 games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Sam Crooks was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run.
In other batting news, Dom Narduzzi was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and one stolen base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Owen Jenks, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and two RBI.
Independence was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .667. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Independence pushed their record up to 15-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Aurora, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-16.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Aurora has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Independence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
