The Laurel Hill Hoboes will face off against the Ponce De Leon Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Laurel Hill fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against L.E.A.D. Academy last Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lions by a score of 8-7. The Hoboes have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Cooper Degraaf
| 02/18/25 @ L.E.A.D. Academy | 9 |
| 04/16/24 vs Baker | 4 |
| 04/03/24 @ Vernon | 4 |
| 02/27/24 vs Vernon | 4 |
| 02/22/24 vs Aletheia Christian Academy | 4 |
Cooper Degraaf put in work no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single hit, allowed only an earned run while striking out nine over 4.1 innings pitched. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing four bases while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Caden Taylor was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (three). Sean Smiley was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing three bases.
Even though they lost, Laurel Hill kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as L.E.A.D. Academy onlymanaged three hits.
Meanwhile, Ponce De Leon had to kick off their season on the road on Monday, but they showed no ill effects. They walked away with a 12-8 victory over Vernon.
Like Laurel Hill, Ponce De Leon also got a great game from a two-way player: Dalton Churchwell. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Furthermore, Churchwell didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
In other batting news, Ponce De Leon let Ethan Bergeron and Mark Flynn run wild. Bergeron scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Flynn scored two runs while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ford Motley, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Laurel Hill's record is now 0-2-1. As for Ponce De Leon, their win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-0.
Laurel Hill came up short against Ponce De Leon when the teams last played back in March of 2024, falling 13-8. Can Laurel Hill avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
