The Magnolia Blue Eagles will head out on the road to challenge the Monroe Central Seminoles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with six losses in a row, Magnolia turned things around against Trinity Christian on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Warriors by a score of 9-5.
Finn Loy and Brayden Byers made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Loy struck out ten batters over 4.1 innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Byers struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Loy scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances, while Byers scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Aiden Fluharty was incredible, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Rydge Moffitt, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Magnolia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Trinity Christian only posted an OBP of .258.
Meanwhile, Monroe Central is still undefeated this season after their contest against Shadyside on Monday, but Shadyside came as close as anyone has to beating them. The Seminoles never let the Tigers get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory. While the Seminoles didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Monroe Central's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Owen Weckbacher, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Monroe Central's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Magnolia, their record now sits at 2-6.
Magnolia suffered a grim 14-6 defeat to Monroe Central in their previous meeting last Tuesday. Can the Blue Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
