Baseball Game Preview: Pleasant Spartans vs. Shelby Whippets

Pleasant is 0-6 against Shelby since April of 2019 but things could change on Saturday. The Spartans will look to defend their home field against the Whippets at 11:00 a.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Pleasant and Cardington-Lincoln meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Spartans skirted past the Pirates 4-3.

Johnathan Maran

Earned Runs

04/30/25 vs Galion	2
05/16/25 @ Cardington-Lincoln	1
04/14/25 @ Kenton	1

Johnathan Maran tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. He is becoming a predictor of Pleasant's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 3-1 (and 3-9 when he doesn't).

At the plate, Owen Lowry and Dillon Burns did most of the damage at the plate: Lowry went 1-for-4 with one home run, while Burns got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, Shelby entered their tilt with Madison Comprehensive on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Rams 8-2. Considering the Whippets have won eight matchups by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Pleasant has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-10 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Shelby, they pushed their record up to 13-9 with the win, which was their third straight at home.

Pleasant couldn't quite get it done against Shelby when the teams last played on Thursday as they fell 12-9. Will the Spartans have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.