Oak Hills has gone 9-1 against Hamilton recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Highlanders are taking a road trip to take on the Big Blue at 5:00 p.m. Oak Hills will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Oak Hills' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Talawanda with a sharp 9-0 victory. Considering the Highlanders have won four contests by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Oak Hills got a great performance from Gabe Cox as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched.
Ethan Moeves
| 04/10/25 @ Talawanda | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Hamilton | 2 |
| 04/02/25 vs Sycamore | 1 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ethan Moeves, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Jaxon Holmes also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Oak Hills kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matchups.
Hamilton had taken Lakota West down for two straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Thursday. The Big Blue lost 11-2 to the Firebirds. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Big Blue have suffered against the Firebirds since April 27, 2022.
Hayden Snyder was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
At the plate, Hamilton saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaleb Powers, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Austin Payne was another, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Hamilton has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-3 record this season. As for Oak Hills, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-0.
Hamilton's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Oak Hills has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10 hits per game. It's a different story for Hamilton, though, as they've been averaging 9 hits. Given Oak Hills' sizable advantage in that area, the Big Blue will need to find a way to close that gap.
Oak Hills took their victory against Hamilton when the teams last played on Wednesday by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Highlanders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
