The Maplewood Rockets will take on the Western Reserve Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Maplewood is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.8 runs per game this season.
Maplewood is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 20-1 margin over Lordstown on Monday. The Rockets have beaten the Red Devils the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Red Devils has come to flipping the script.
Matthew Bolton
| 04/27/26 vs Lordstown | 5 |
| 04/13/26 vs Badger | 2 |
| 04/21/26 vs St. John | 1 |
| 04/08/26 @ Windham | 1 |
Matthew Bolton looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Preston Cooper, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with five RBI, three runs, and one stolen base. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Tyson Webster was another key player, going 1-for-3 with four runs, two RBI, and one double.
Maplewood hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Western Reserve posted their closest victory since March 30th on Thursday. They skirted past Mineral Ridge 4-2.
Landan Gerchak was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Gerchak was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Gerchak wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Hunter Taylor, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Maplewood's win bumped their record up to 9-5. As for Western Reserve, their victory bumped their record up to 9-3.
Tuesday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Maplewood hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .345. However, it's not like Western Reserve struggles in that department as they've averaged .313. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
