The Pettisville Blackbirds will square off against the Edon Bombers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pettisville's pitching crew has only allowed three runs per game this season, so Edon's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Pettisville will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Stryker, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Blackbirds came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday. While the Blackbirds didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-9), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Quinn Ripke
| 04/23/25 @ Stryker | 3 |
| 04/17/25 @ Holgate | 1 |
| 04/15/25 vs North Central | 1 |
| 04/11/25 @ Continental | 2 |
The team relied heavily on Quinn Ripke, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Creighton Aeschliman, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Edon). They were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over North Central on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Bombers considering their two-run performance the game before.
Christian Owens made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and not a single walk). He is becoming a predictor of Edon's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is undefeated (and 1-4 when he doesn't). Owens was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Kyler Sapp was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Carter Steinke, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Edon was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. They are 2-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Pettisville's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Edon, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pettisville has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Edon struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Pettisville beat Edon 5-0 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Do the Blackbirds have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bombers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
