The Cleveland Central Wolves will face off against the Pontotoc Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Cleveland Central's favor as the team sits on six straight wins at home while Pontotoc has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
On Thursday, Cleveland Central made easy work of Canton and carried off a 16-1 victory.
Christian McKinney made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.

Nathaniel Lessie
04/17/25 vs Canton | 4 |
04/10/25 vs Yazoo City | 1 |
04/08/25 @ Canton | 1 |
03/25/25 vs Greenville | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nathaniel Lessie, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Jasper Lewis was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Cleveland Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .800. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Pontotoc didn't have quite enough to beat Oxford on Friday and fell 2-1. That's two games in a row now that the Warriors have lost by just one run.
Pontotoc saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braxton Whiteside, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Cleveland Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Pontotoc, their loss dropped their record down to 17-10.
Cleveland Central suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Pontotoc in their previous meeting back in April of 2017. Will the Wolves have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.