The Burke County Bears will challenge the Westside Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Burke County has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Westside will arrive with five straight victories.
Burke County lost 8-2 to Lakeside on Friday.
Burke County saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Asher Price, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
While Westside didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Hephzibah 18-2 on Tuesday. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by ten runs or more this season.
Hunter Barrow made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs.
In other batting news, Ethan Collins was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. Justin Lampkin was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Westside always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .618. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Westside's win bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Burke County, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Burke County has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Westside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
