The Drury Blue Devils will head out to take on the Pioneer Valley Regional Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, Drury made easy work of McCann Tech and carried off a 9-2 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Devils.
Connor Hinkell made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 18 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Hinkell wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Julian Faliciano, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Pioneer Valley Regional strolled into their game on Wednesday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Hampshire Regional a 7-0 shutout.
Not much got past Ben Werner, who gave up just six hits to keep Hampshire Regional off the board.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jackson Glazier, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, one triple, and one run. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Mauthe, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Pioneer Valley Regional's victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Drury, their record now sits at 11-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Drury has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pioneer Valley Regional struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
