North Central extended their losing streak to six on Monday, dropping them down to 6-12. They came up short against the Sullivan Golden Arrows, falling 16-0. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Thunderbirds of the 3-0 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in May of 2024.
As for Sullivan, their victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-3. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.9 runs on average over those games.
For Sullivan's part, Hunter Mason was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. What's more, Mason posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Zane Abbott and Paul Ridgeway did most of the damage at the plate: Abbott got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI, while Ridgeway went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two hits gave Ridgeway a new career-high.
North Central and Sullivan are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. The Thunderbirds will face off against Dugger Union at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Bulldogs have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 14.23 runs per game on average), something North Central will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Sullivan, they will square off against Barr-Reeve at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Golden Arrows 1.9, the Vikings 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
