The Talawanda Brave will challenge the Larue County Hawks at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Talawanda has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Larue County will arrive with six straight victories.
On Wednesday, Talawanda came up short against Hopkinsville and fell 10-5.
Talawanda saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Wright, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI. Another was Connor Sayler, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Larue County made easy work of Woodford County on Tuesday and carried off an 8-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Hawks, who have now won six games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Cole Miller made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one double. That double was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Dekker Thomas was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Brady Skaggs was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Larue County's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Talawanda, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Talawanda has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Larue County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
