The Shaler Area Titans will head out on the road to challenge the Pine-Richland Rams at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Shaler Area 3.2, Pine-Richland 1.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Shaler Area's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Baldwin with a sharp 10-0 win. The Titans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matches by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Colby Mcguire, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Brendan Fitzgerald was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases and one run.
Shaler Area was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Pine-Richland entered their tilt with Butler on Thursday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They had just enough and edged out the Golden Tornado 2-0.
The result came thanks to Noah Mackie's shutout, as he gave up just three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Pine-Richland saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ben Husted, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run.
Shaler Area pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Pine-Richland, their record is now 11-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Shaler Area has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pine-Richland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Shaler Area suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Pine-Richland in their previous meeting back in May of 2018. Can the Titans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
