Cranberry Area hasn't had much luck against Clarion Area recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Berries will head out to square off against the Bobcats at 4:15 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Cranberry Area will bounce into Thursday's matchup after beating Karns City, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Berries won by a run and slipped past the Gremlins 7-6.
The team relied heavily on Connor Morrow, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Jake McCloskey also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Cranberry Area hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Karns City struck out seven times.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, Clarion Area made sure to put some runs up on the board against Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley on Monday. The Bobcats came out on top against Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley by a score of 10-5. The Bobcats haven't had any issues with Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Derek Smail was excellent, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. Clarion Area is undefeated when Smail posts two or more runs, but 1-3 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Billy Kahle, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Cranberry Area has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Clarion Area, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cranberry Area has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Clarion Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cranberry Area suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Clarion Area in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Berries avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
