The Lee Park Prep Knights will head out on the road to face off against the South Pointe Christian Patriots at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lee Park Prep has four straight victories, South Pointe Christian has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Monday, it was close, but Lee Park Prep sidestepped Rocky River for an 8-7 win.
Cam Stikeleather was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Stikeleather was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Isaac Watkins, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-5. Another player making a difference was Justus Stikeleather, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but South Pointe Christian had to settle for a 7-6 loss against Non Varsity Opponent back in March.
Tucker Rodgers was cooking despite his team's loss, going 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and a triple. Aiden Arant was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, South Pointe Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. That's the best OBP they've managed all season.
Lee Park Prep's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-6. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of one runs across that stretch. As for South Pointe Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lee Park Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like South Pointe Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lee Park Prep couldn't quite finish off South Pointe Christian when the teams last played back in March and fell 6-4. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Arant, who struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Now that Lee Park Prep knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
