The Hickory Hornets will challenge the Franklin Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Hickory gave up the first runs on Monday, but they didn't let that get them down. Everything went their way against Oil City as they made off with a 9-2 victory. The Hornets haven't had any issues with the Oilers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Ayden Messer
| 04/03/26 vs LaBrae | 3 |
| 03/25/26 vs Serra Catholic | 3 |
| 04/30/26 vs Titusville | 2 |
| 03/24/26 vs Riverside | 1 |
Ayden Messer looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Hickory: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-9 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Hickory let Michael Ristvey and Dante Evans run wild. Ristvey went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBI, while Evans went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack White, who went 2-for-5 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, while Franklin put up some runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Sharon. The Knights narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Tigers 1-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Knights have posted since April 24, 2025.
The result came thanks to Nate Fezell's shutout, as he gave up just a hit and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Franklin secured the victory behind a pair of hitters. One of them was Nolan Parry, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
Franklin's win bumped their record up to 9-7. As for Hickory, their victory bumped their record up to 6-10.
Hickory beat Franklin 12-7 in their previous matchup back in April. Do the Hornets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Knights turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
