The Platt Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Southington Blue Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Platt's pitching crew has only allowed 2.5 runs per game this season, so Southington's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Platt is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: Berlin, who was ranked second at the time (Platt was ranked 11th). The Panthers fell just short of the Redcoats by a score of 4-3 on Wednesday. Surprisingly, this marked the Panthers' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Platt saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brandon Candelora, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Southington). They put the hurt on Middletown with a sharp 19-0 victory on Wednesday. The Blue Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by seven runs or more this season.
Logan Rembish made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over 4.2 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Colin LaRosa was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Marco Spataro was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Southington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Middletown only managed two hits.
Southington's record now sits at 8-3. As for Platt, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 9-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Platt has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Southington struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.9 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.
