Baseball Game Preview: Margaretta Polar Bears vs. Plymouth Big Red

Margaretta is 0-3 against Plymouth since May of 2021 but things could change on Friday. The Polar Bears will face off against the Big Red at 5:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Margaretta barely beat Willard the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Polar Bears were the clear victors by an 11-1 margin over the Crimson Flashes on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Polar Bears considering their two-run performance the contest before.

Meanwhile, Plymouth had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They walked away with a 6-3 victory over the Mounties. Six seems to be a good number for the Big Red as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Jarrett Burrer made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.

In other batting news, Keegan Beverly was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base. Plymouth is 8-3 when Beverly posts two or more runs, but 4-5 otherwise.

Margaretta has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-16 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for Plymouth, they pushed their record up to 12-8 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.

Margaretta couldn't quite finish off Plymouth when the teams last played back in May of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Polar Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.