Baseball Preview: Fredericksburg Christian Eagles vs. Highland Hawks
Fredericksburg Christian has enjoyed the comforts of home their last six games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Highland Hawks at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Fredericksburg Christian will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Randolph-Macon Academy on Thursday. Fredericksburg Christian put the hurt on Randolph-Macon Academy with a sharp 14-4 win. Considering Fredericksburg Christian's hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Clayton Boyer made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Boyer was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run.
In other batting news, Robbie Harbour was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing four bases. Matthew Blalock was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Highland can now show off 12 landslide victories after their most recent contest on Wednesday. They beat Trinity Episcopal by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-0. Winning may never get old, but Highland sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Owen Winebarger looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Kehler Hamilton was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Luke Craddock, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Fredericksburg Christian's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-10. As for Highland, their win was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fredericksburg Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Highland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fredericksburg Christian suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Highland in their previous meeting on Tuesday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Highland's Braedy Peck, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Now that Fredericksburg Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
