The Monroe Central Seminoles will take on the Magnolia Blue Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Monroe Central will come into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Monroe Central's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-0 win over Shadyside. Those two runs were actually the fewest the Seminoles have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Monroe Central's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Owen Weckbacher, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Magnolia came into Wednesday's match having lost six straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They walked away with a 9-5 win over Trinity Christian on Wednesday.
Finn Loy and Brayden Byers made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Loy struck out ten batters over 4.1 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Byers struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Loy scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances, while Byers scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aiden Fluharty, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Rydge Moffitt, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Magnolia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Monroe Central's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Magnolia, their victory bumped their record up to 2-6.
Everything went Monroe Central's way against Magnolia in their previous matchup last Tuesday, as Monroe Central made off with a 14-6 win. Will the Seminoles repeat their success, or do the Blue Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
