The Palmetto Ridge Bears will venture away from home to take on the Aubrey Rogers Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palmetto Ridge took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over Mariner.
Greg Corrasco spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up six Ks. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in February.
On the hitting side, Anthony Del Sol was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. John Carvajal also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Aubrey Rogers waltzed into their game on Wednesday with nine straight wins... but they left with ten. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Knights a 10-0 shutout. Considering the Patriots have won eight contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Jayden Bartlett, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 2-for-3. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Logan Grimm, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with four RBI and one double.
Aubrey Rogers' win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Palmetto Ridge, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Palmetto Ridge has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Aubrey Rogers struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Palmetto Ridge couldn't quite get it done against Aubrey Rogers when the teams last played back in February as they fell 9-4. Can Palmetto Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
