The Wheelersburg Pirates are taking a road trip to challenge the Ironton Fighting Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Wheelersburg comes in on six and Ironton on ten.
On Wednesday, Wheelersburg was able to grind out a solid win over Waverly, taking the game 4-1.
Jack Picklesimer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on seven hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brody Wilburn, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Jake Clevenger was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.
Meanwhile, Ironton posted their closest victory since April 9th on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Gallia Academy, sneaking past 4-2.
Ironton also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Braydon Baker gave up only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Ironton's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ian Ginger, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run. Ginger has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Ironton's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Wheelersburg, their record is now 12-4.
Wheelersburg came out on top in a nail-biter against Ironton in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pirates since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
