Baseball Game Preview: Ellicottville Eagles vs. Randolph Cardinals

For the second straight game, Ellicottville will face off against Randolph. The Eagles will face off against the Cardinals at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Ellicottville has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Randolph will arrive with four straight wins.

Randolph hit Ellicottville with a ten-run fourth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Eagles came up short against the Cardinals, falling 12-1. Eagles fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Cardinals since on Friday.

For Randolph's part, Aiden Taylor tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). Those seven strikeouts gave Taylor a new career-high.

At the plate, Randolph let David Malone and Connor Braley run wild. Malone went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double, while Braley went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one run. Those four RBI gave Braley a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Randall Nottingham, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.

The victory got Randolph back to even at 7-7. As for Ellicottville, their loss dropped their record down to 6-9.

Randolph's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Ellicottville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Randolph, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will Ellicottville keep running through batters, or will the Cardinals buck the trend? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.