Baseball Game Preview: North Oconee Titans vs. Walnut Grove Warriors

The North Oconee Titans will face off against the Walnut Grove Warriors at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (North Oconee 4, Walnut Grove 2.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.

North Oconee's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Walnut Grove hitters got past them. North Oconee lost 12-0 to Walnut Grove on Tuesday. The game marked the first time this season in which the Titans were not able to get on the board.

For Walnut Grove's part, Sam Martell made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Martell has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sean Martell, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Brayden Kelly, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Walnut Grove always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in five consecutive matchups.

With the loss, North Oconee broke their five-game winning streak and moved their record to 12-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Walnut Grove, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.