The Carroll Chargers will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Norwell Knights at 5:30 p.m. Carroll is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Things were looking good for Carroll after they put the first points on the board on Thursday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of Warsaw by a score of 7-6.
Brady Long was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (and only one walk).
At the plate, Conner Barkel was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Grant Peters, who got no hits from his two at bats.
Meanwhile, Norwell had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They came out on top against the Braves by a score of 6-1.
Lane Lewis spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered one run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Norwell's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Drew Graft, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Cotton, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Carroll's loss dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Norwell, their victory bumped their record up to 8-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Carroll has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Norwell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Carroll skirted past Norwell 2-1 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Norwell's Graham Gaier, who didn't allow a single earned run over 6.2 innings pitched. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Carroll to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
