The Boardman Spartans will face off against the Lake Blue Streaks at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Boardman sitting on seven straight victories and Lake on four.
Boardman had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 11-run drubbing they dealt Perry on Friday. The Spartans blew past the Panthers 13-2. That 11 run margin sets a new team best for the Spartans this season.
Landon Whippo
| 04/18/25 @ Perry | 7 |
| 04/16/25 @ Toronto | 4 |
| 04/24/24 @ Howland | 4 |
| 04/01/24 vs North Gwinnett | 3 |
| 04/18/24 vs Lakeview | 2 |
Landon Whippo made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Ivan Rudiak was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Tyler Kirlik, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and three runs.
Boardman always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lake). They were the clear victors by a 14-2 margin over Perry on Thursday. With that win, the Blue Streaks brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Like Boardman, Lake also got a great game from a two-way player: Noah Kubasky. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Kubasky has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Anderson Alacchi was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Ty DeGeorge was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Boardman pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Lake, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
Boardman came out on top in a nail-biter against Lake in their previous matchup back in May of 2022, sneaking past 1-0. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Blue Streaks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
