The J.L. Mann Patriots will square off against the Christ Church Episcopal Cavaliers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Christ Church Episcopal took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on J.L. Mann, who comes in off a win.
J.L. Mann took a eight-run loss the last time they faced off against Powdersville, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. J.L. Mann skirted past Powdersville 5-4.
Teddy Garner looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Riggs Manning, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.
Meanwhile, Christ Church Episcopal didn't have quite enough to beat Walhalla on Monday and fell 5-4. The Cavaliers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Robert Howell was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over 4.1 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Blake Foral was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Carter Phillips, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one run.
J.L. Mann has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Christ Church Episcopal, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-10.
Christ Church Episcopal's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. J.L. Mann has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Christ Church Episcopal, though, as they've been averaging only 4.1 strikeouts. Will J.L. Mann keep running through batters, or will the Cavaliers buck the trend?
J.L. Mann took their win against Christ Church Episcopal in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 14-4 score. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Cavaliers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
