Baseball Game Preview: Sycamore Aviators vs. Oak Hills Highlanders

The Sycamore Aviators will be taking part in a tournament against the Oak Hills Highlanders at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Sycamore is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Lebanon, sneaking past 5-4.

Meanwhile, Oak Hills had just enough and edged out Milford 2-1 on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Highlanders have won by just one run.

Ryan Murphy 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 eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Oak Hills saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Beckham Shorten, who went 1-for-2 with one run.

Oak Hills has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Sycamore, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-15.

Sycamore suffered a grim 9-1 defeat to Oak Hills when the teams last played two weeks ago. Can the Aviators avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.