The Elmwood Royals will face off against the Otsego Knights at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Elmwood 3.5, Otsego 3.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Elmwood's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Monday's struggle, when Liberty-Benton hitters got past them. The Royals lost 10-2 to the Eagles on Monday. That makes it the first time this season the Royals have let down their home crowd.
Elmwood saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Landon Snow, who went 1-for-2 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Otsego won against Genoa Area on Friday with seven runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. The Knights came out on top against Rossford by a score of 7-2. Winning may never get old, but the Knights sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Bodde Simon was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one triple.
In other pitching news, Otsego got a great performance from Cole Cryan as he struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and not a single walk). Those ten strikeouts gave Cryan a new career-high.
Otsego's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Elmwood, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 8-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Elmwood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Otsego struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Elmwood came out on top in a nail-biter against Otsego in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-5. Will the Royals repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
