The Perkins Pirates will square off against the Clay Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clay will be up against a hot Perkins team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. The Pirates' pitcher stepped up to hand Huron a 10-0 shutout on Wednesday. Ten seems to be a good number for the Pirates as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Kash Koch
| 05/20/26 vs Huron | 6 |
| 05/16/26 vs St. Edward | 2 |
| 05/12/26 vs Columbian | 5 |
| 05/08/26 @ Clyde | 0 |
| 05/04/26 vs Bellevue | 7 |
Kash Koch made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted over his last five matchups. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Sam Schweinfurth was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most hits he has posted over his last 12 games. Carter Koch was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Perkins hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Clay had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They put the hurt on Lima Senior with a sharp 10-0 victory on Wednesday.
Like Perkins, Clay also got a great game from a two-way player: Bryce Besgrove. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. Besgrove has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in ten consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Landon Echelberry, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Darin Fussell, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Perkins' win bumped their record up to 18-5-1. As for Clay, their victory bumped their record up to 19-6.
Perkins skirted past Clay 4-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2025. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
