Baseball Game Preview: River Valley Panthers vs. Northern Cambria Colts

River Valley hasn't had much luck against Northern Cambria recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Panthers will take on the Colts at 3:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

River Valley is headed into the match having just posted their closest victory since May 8, 2024 on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past Greater Johnstown 8-7.

Caden Vresilovic was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. Chase Stuchal also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northern Cambria). They were the clear victors by a 22-5 margin over Purchase Line on Monday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Colts with their most commanding win of the season.

Parker Shutty was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Shutty was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances.

In other batting news, Brad Valeria was a standout: he scored two runs while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Nathan Fry, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4.

Northern Cambria always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .527. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Purchase Line only posted an OBP of .355.

Northern Cambria pushed their record up to 10-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.2 runs over those games. As for River Valley, their win ended a five-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-8.

River Valley suffered a grim 17-2 defeat to Northern Cambria in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.