The Martinsville Pirates will head out to face off against the Centerville Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Martinsville has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with 16 straight losses, while Centerville will come in with three straight victories.
Martinsville is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They lost 22-12 to Broaddus on Friday. That's two games in a row now that the Pirates have lost by exactly ten runs.
Kase Lunsford made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-5. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryder Dillard, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases.
Meanwhile, Centerville hadn't done well against Kennard recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Centerville put the hurt on Kennard with a sharp 15-0 win. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by six runs or more this season.
Jake Slaten was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Centerville got a massive performance out of Hardy Brown, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Those RBI marked the first that Brown brought in this season. Kolt Larsen was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Centerville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Centerville pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.7 runs over those games. As for Martinsville, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
Everything went Martinsville's way against Centerville in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, as Martinsville made off with a 16-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Martinsville since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
