Baseball Game Preview: Aquinas Knights vs. Malvern Hornets

The Aquinas Knights will venture away from home to challenge the Malvern Hornets at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Aquinas fell victim to Central Christian and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Comets, falling 6-0. The Knights haven't had much luck with the Comets recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

East Canton hit Malvern with a four-run sixth inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. Malvern fell just short of East Canton by a score of 8-6. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since May 10, 2023, but that streak is no more.

Wade Barkley made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs. He has become a key player for Malvern: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-13 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Darnell Jackson, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and one double.

Aquinas' loss dropped their record down to 8-8. As for Malvern, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-14.

Aquinas couldn't quite finish off Malvern in their previous matchup back in April and fell 5-3. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.