The North Clarion Wolves will take on the Brookville Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. North Clarion is looking for their season's first win.
North Clarion came into this matchup off a tough 17-run loss on Wednesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Brockway by a score of 7-5 on Friday. On the bright side, the five- run performance marked the Wolves' highest-scoring game to date.
North Clarion saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Pappas, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That RBI was Pappas' first of the season. Another was Brody Hartle, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last contest, Brookville made sure to put some runs up on the board against Keystone on Friday. The Raiders put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 16-5 victory. That 11 run margin sets a new team best for the Raiders this season.
Luke Burton made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up four earned runs off eight hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Brookville is 2-1 when Burton posts three or more hits, but 3-12 otherwise.
In other batting news, Gage Miller was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Shofestall, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Brookville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
North Clarion's defeat dropped their record down to 0-12. As for Brookville, the win snapped their losing streak at six games and leaves them with a 5-13 record.
North Clarion was able to grind out a solid victory over Brookville in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, winning 6-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wolves since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
