Baseball Game Preview: Eastern Lebanon County Raiders vs. Octorara Area Braves

The Eastern Lebanon County Raiders will venture away from home to take on the Octorara Area Braves at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Eastern Lebanon County easily dispatched Garden Spot on Wednesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Raiders fell just short of Manheim Central by a score of 9-7 on Monday. Surprisingly, this marked the fourth straight game that the away team has come away the victor.

Austin Smith made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Tanner Hibshman also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Octorara Area posted their closest win since April 11, 2024 on Monday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Cocalico a 2-0 shutout. The victory was some much needed relief for the Braves as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

The win got Octorara Area back to even at 5-5. As for Eastern Lebanon County, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 6-5 record.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Eastern Lebanon County has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Octorara 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.

Eastern Lebanon County beat Octorara Area 4-1 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Do the Raiders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Braves turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.