The Granite Hills Eagles will square off against the Patrick Henry Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Granite Hills will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
Granite Hills is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They skirted past St. Augustine 6-4.
Brenden Lewis was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 12 consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Parker Vance was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, Patrick Henry got themselves on the board against Eastlake on Wednesday, but Eastlake never followed suit. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Titans, sneaking past 2-0.
The result came thanks to Cody Cappelletti's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Patrick Henry's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Salvatore Gagliano, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run and one double.
Granite Hills' victory was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 23-0-2. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Patrick Henry, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 21-9-2 record this season.
Both Granite Hills and Patrick Henry just can't seem to miss. The Eagles have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9 hits per game. However, it's not like Patrick Henry struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.6 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Granite Hills beat Patrick Henry 7-2 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
