The Eastern Eagles will head out to square off against the Marietta Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Eastern is coming into the matchup on a five-game losing streak.
Eastern made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Warren, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Eagles fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 9-7 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Eagles have suffered since April 14th.
Ashlynn Thomas 2027 was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Aedre Ault 2028, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and four RBI.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Marietta, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They blew past Federal Hocking 11-1 on Thursday. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine games by six runs or more this season.
Chloe Harris made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaylie Barth, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Samantha Mayo, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
Marietta always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Federal Hocking only posted an OBP of .316.
Marietta has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Eastern, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-13.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Eastern has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Marietta struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Eastern suffered a grim 9-3 defeat to Marietta in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
