The Clay Eagles will venture away from home to face off against the Perkins Pirates at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clay is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Lima Senior a 10-0 shutout.
Bryce Besgrove made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two hits in ten consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, Landon Echelberry was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. Darin Fussell was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Clay always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lima Senior only posted an OBP of .143.
Meanwhile, Perkins came tearing into Wednesday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Tigers with a sharp 10-0 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Pirates have posted against the Tigers since April 15, 2022.
Like Clay, Perkins also got a great game from a two-way player: Kash Koch. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. Koch was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sam Schweinfurth, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Another player making a difference was Carter Koch, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Clay's record is now 19-6. As for Perkins, their record now sits at 18-5-1.
Clay couldn't quite finish off Perkins when the teams last played back in May of 2025 and fell 4-2. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
