Baseball Preview: West Branch Warriors vs. Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs
The West Branch Warriors will head out on the road to challenge the Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. West Branch is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 11.3 runs per game this season.
West Branch can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent game on Tuesday. They blew past Glendale 11-1. The high-scoring effort was just what West Branch needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
Luke Liptak made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Liptak has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances. Liptak was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brody Rothrock, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Nick Parks, who scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 14 runs the game before, Claysburg-Kimmel was a bit more limited in their matchup on Tuesday. They suffered a tough 9-2 defeat at the hands of Tussey Mountain. Claysburg-Kimmel has struggled against Tussey Mountain recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Zach Campagna was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with a home run.
West Branch is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. As for Claysburg-Kimmel, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.
Claysburg-Kimmel's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: West Branch hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. It's a different story for Claysburg-Kimmel, though, as they've only averaged .246. Will they be able to contain West Branch's hitters?
West Branch took their victory against Claysburg-Kimmel in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Branch since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
