The Eagleton College & Career Academy Royals will face off against the Grainger Grizzlies at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Eagleton College & Career Academy and four for Grainger.
Eagleton College & Career Academy is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest loss since March 8th on Friday. They came up short against Clinton, falling 11-2. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Royals' biggest loss of the season was also their lowest-scoring.
Eagleton College & Career Academy saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caldwell Charlie, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Grainger fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Cherokee on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Chiefs by a score of 12-11.
Kade Lucas was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Nolan Wallace made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs while going 3-for-5. He has become a key player for Grainger: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-9 otherwise. Connor May was another key player, going 2-for-5 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Even though they lost, Grainger kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive games.
Eagleton College & Career Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 8-5-1. As for Grainger, their loss dropped their record down to 3-10.
Saturday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Eagleton College & Career Academy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .334. However, it's not like Grainger struggles in that department as they've averaged .320. 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.
