The Greenwood Wildcats will head out to challenge the Upper Dauphin Area Trojans at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Greenwood has given up an average of 9.3 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Greenwood is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 16 runs on Wednesday, they were much more limited against Halifax on Friday. They lost 11-0 to Halifax. Greenwood hasn't had much luck with Halifax recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
Meanwhile, Upper Dauphin Area got the win against Newport on Friday by a conclusive 12-1. The match marked the Trojans' most dominant victory of the season.
Colt Bellis made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Upper Dauphin Area is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-8 otherwise. Bellis was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Karson Engle and Nolan Schreffler did most of the damage at the plate: Engle got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple, while Schreffler went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. Schreffler has become a key player for Upper Dauphin Area: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 3-9 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Hunter Grassmyer, who went 2-for-4 with one home run.
Upper Dauphin Area kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive games.
Upper Dauphin Area's record is now 6-9. As for Greenwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Greenwood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Upper Dauphin Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
