Middletown is 1-9 against East Pennsboro since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Blue Raiders will square off against the Panthers at 4:15 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Tuesday, Middletown got the win against Milton Hershey by a conclusive 7-1.
Middletown let Michael Swartz and Brendan Fox run wild. Swartz got on base in two of his five plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Fox went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Jacob Miller was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Middletown was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Milton Hershey only posted a batting average of .200.
Meanwhile, East Pennsboro strolled into their game on Tuesday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Everything went their way against Harrisburg as they made off with a 15-1 victory.
Luca DeGregorio looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jovi DeJesus, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Steel Bayer, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Middletown has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for East Pennsboro, their victory was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Middletown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Pennsboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Middletown couldn't quite finish off East Pennsboro in their previous matchup back in March and fell 3-1. Can the Blue Raiders avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
