The Rootstown Rovers will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Waterloo Vikings at 5:00 p.m.
On Thursday, it was a hard-fought contest, but Rootstown had to settle for a 10-9 loss against Coventry.
Joe Weaver was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. Ethan White was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-5.
Even though they lost, Rootstown was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with three doubles. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Coventry didn't hit any.
Meanwhile, Waterloo sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-7 win over Ravenna on Thursday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Waterloo.
Vincent Mori was a standout: he scored two runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Aric May, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-3.
Rootstown's defeat was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-11. As for Waterloo, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rootstown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Waterloo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Rootstown couldn't quite finish off Waterloo in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 and fell 6-4. Thankfully for Rootstown, Anthony Podojil (who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
