The Fairbanks Panthers will head out to challenge the Grove City Christian Eagles at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Fairbanks' win against Catholic Central wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Panthers won by a run and slipped past the Irish 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.
Dayne Madison
| 05/19/25 vs Catholic Central | 7 |
| 05/09/25 vs Pleasant | 6 |
| 05/13/25 vs West Liberty-Salem | 5 |
| 05/02/25 vs Southeastern Local | 4 |
| 04/14/25 @ Triad | 4 |
Dayne Madison made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over seven innings while giving up four earned runs off six hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Carson Reames, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.
Fairbanks always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Catholic Central only posted an OBP of .355.
Meanwhile, Grove City Christian entered their tilt with Bexley on Tuesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Lions by a score of 5-2.
Like Fairbanks, Grove City Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Jeff Collins. Throwing, Collins pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Jadunn Harris didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Grove City Christian is undefeated when he allows at most three earned runs, but 7-8-1 otherwise. At the plate, Collins went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Harris went 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Fillinger, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Caleb Butts also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Grove City Christian pushed their record up to 13-8-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Fairbanks, their record is now 9-13.
Everything went Fairbanks' way against Grove City Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2016, as Fairbanks made off with a 10-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
