The Tipton Blue Devils will head out to challenge the Lapel Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tipton has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with three straight losses, while Lapel will come in with three straight wins.
Things were looking good for Tipton after they put the first run on the board on Wednesday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They came up short against Madison-Grant, falling 11-5.
Tipton got a good showing from Gabe Wiggington, who tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. The dominant performance also gave Wiggington a new career-low in walks (zero).
At the plate, Piercen Nasser made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, Lapel made easy work of Elwood on Wednesday and carried off a 14-2 victory. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine games by seven runs or more this season.
Darl Gustin was a standout: he got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kai Newman, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two doubles.
Lapel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .513 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Tipton's defeat dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Lapel, their win was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-1.
Tipton suffered a grim 20-0 defeat to Lapel in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Blue Devils avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
