The McKinley Tech Trainers will head out to face off against the Eastern Ramblers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
McKinley Tech is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of District of Columbia's top teams: Roosevelt, who was ranked 13th at the time (McKinley Tech was ranked 11th). The Trainers fell just short of the Roughriders by a score of 6-4 on Wednesday. The loss continues a trend for the Trainers in their meetings with the Roughriders: they've now lost four in a row.
Jeydon Zambrano was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-1 with three stolen bases and two doubles.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Eastern, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They put the hurt on McKinley Tech with a sharp 11-0 victory on Monday. Considering the Ramblers have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past William Weedon, who gave up just a hit and racked up 11 Ks to keep McKinley Tech off the board. Eastern is 3-1-1 when Weedon allows two or fewer hits, but 8-9 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Aaron Williams was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Eastern's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 6-2-1 (and 5-8 when he doesn't). Asa Roessner was another key player, going 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Eastern always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as McKinley Tech only posted an OBP of .318.
Eastern pushed their record up to 11-10-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for McKinley Tech, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-5.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. McKinley Tech has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .561. However, it's not like Eastern struggles in that department as they've averaged .472. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
McKinley Tech might still be hurting after the 11-0 loss they got from Eastern when the teams last played on Monday. Can the Trainers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
