The Big Spring Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the Northern York Polar Bears at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Big Spring sitting on three straight victories and Northern York on six.
In Tuesday's Canine Competition, Big Spring prevailed. They blew past Shippensburg 11-3 on Tuesday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Rilee Stewart made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Stewart was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Izzy Fry, who fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Kendall Boring-Gutshall, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Big Spring was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Northern York ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Waynesboro as they made off with a 14-7 win. The Polar Bears might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by six runs or more this season.
Like Big Spring, Northern York also got a great game from a two-way player: Sammy Magee. She struck out 12 batters over nine innings while giving up seven earned runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). Magee has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, firing off two home runs and four RBI while going 3-for-6.
In other batting news, Izzy Hobby was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-5. She has been hot recently, having posted three or more hits the last three times she's played. Avery Yoder also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Northern York's victory was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-0. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Big Spring, their record is now 4-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Big Spring hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Northern York struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.3 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Big Spring took their victory against Northern York in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 12-4 score. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Polar Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
