The Ironton Fighting Tigers will take on the Portsmouth Trojans at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Ironton sitting on eight straight victories and Portsmouth on six.
On Tuesday, Ironton made easy work of Dawson-Bryant and carried off a 12-2 win. The Fighting Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by eight runs or more this season.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth got the win against Dawson-Bryant on Wednesday by a conclusive 13-2. The Trojans are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the fourth contest they've won by 6+ runs this season.
Trevin Brooks made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, J.T. Williams was incredible, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Braxton Carr, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Portsmouth was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Ironton's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Portsmouth, their victory bumped their record up to 9-4.
Ironton came out on top in a nail-biter against Portsmouth in their previous matchup two weeks ago, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Fighting Tigers repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
