Baseball Preview: Clarion Area Bobcats vs. Clarion-Limestone Lions
The Clarion Area Bobcats will be playing in front of their home fans against the Clarion-Limestone Lions at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. Clarion Area is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.
Clarion Area can now show off 11 landslide victories after their most recent game on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Hickory an 8-0 shutout.
Derek Smail made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Smail has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Smail was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dawson Smail, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Devon Lauer, who went 1-for-3 with a triple and a run.
Meanwhile, Clarion-Limestone earned an 8-3 win over Brookville on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Clarion-Limestone.
Like Clarion Area, Clarion-Limestone also got a great game from a two-way player: Tommy Smith. He tossed five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Smith was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Paul Craig looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Back at the plate, Clarion-Limestone let Logan Lutz and Brayden Murray loose on the outfield. Lutz scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Murray scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Clarion Area's victory was their tenth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-1-1. As for Clarion-Limestone, their win bumped their record up to 9-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clarion Area has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Clarion-Limestone struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Clarion Area's way against Clarion-Limestone in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 as Clarion Area made off with a 12-2 victory. Will Clarion Area repeat their success, or does Clarion-Limestone have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
