The St. Marys Blue Devils will take on the Grafton Bearcats at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. St. Marys will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Having struggled with five losses in a row, St. Marys turned things around against Webster County on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Highlanders by a score of 7-2.
Casey Burkhammer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. He has become a key player for St. Marys: the team is undefeated when he posts at least ten strikeouts, but 4-16-1 otherwise. Burkhammer was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Desmond Parks
| 04/29/25 @ Webster County | 3 |
| 04/12/25 @ Calhoun | 2 |
| 04/05/25 vs Paden City | 2 |
| 04/25/25 vs Ravenswood | 1 |
| 04/21/25 vs Magnolia | 1 |
In other batting news, Desmond Parks and Kyle Bullman did most of the damage at the plate: Parks went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Bullman went 3-for-5 with four stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Those three RBI gave Parks a new career-high. Ayden Powell was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Grafton ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Preston 9-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bearcats have posted since April 18th.
The team relied heavily on Carter Gillespie, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs and two doubles. The team also got some help courtesy of Chace Kinsey, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Grafton kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
The win got Grafton back to even at 13-13. As for St. Marys, their victory bumped their record up to 7-16-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. St. Marys has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grafton struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
St. Marys came out on top in a nail-biter against Grafton when the teams last played back in May of 2016, sneaking past 12-11. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Bearcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
