Baseball Preview: Manheim Township Blue Streaks vs. Ephrata Mountaineers
Manheim Township and Ephrata are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Manheim Township Blue Streaks will head out on the road to challenge the Ephrata Mountaineers at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Manheim Township is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road.
On Friday, it was close, but Manheim Township sidestepped Hempfield for an 8-7 win.
Manheim Township got a great performance from Trey Eckman as he struck out six batters over 5.2 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Eckman has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Josh Boll was a standout: he scored two runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Angelo Billiard, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Ephrata's offense. They fell just short of Solanco by a score of 2-0 on Friday. The contest marked the first time this year in which Ephrata was not able to get on the board.
Nathan Savage spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on four hits.
On the hitting side, Ephrata saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caleb Grant, who went 1-for-2 with a double.
Manheim Township is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Ephrata, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 13-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Manheim Township has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ephrata struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Manheim Township was able to grind out a solid victory over Ephrata when the teams last played back in May of 2023, winning 4-0. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Ephrata's Tanner McCracken, who didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Manheim Township to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
