The Ellet Orangemen will head out on the road to challenge the Firestone Falcons at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Ellet's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three contests, but Wednesday's matchup will give them a chance to turn things around.
On Saturday, Ellet came up short against Barberton and fell 5-1.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Firestone). Everything went their way against Buchtel on Monday as they made off with an 18-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Falcons, who have now won ten games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Noah Liming made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Firestone is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-7 otherwise. Liming was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Tony Miller and Skyler Nespo did most of the damage at the plate: Miller got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and one RBI, while Nespo went 1-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one double. That's the most runs Nespo has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Luke Rhamy, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Firestone was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .480. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Firestone is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games. As for Ellet, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ellet has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Firestone struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ellet might still be hurting after the 16-1 loss they got from Firestone in their previous matchup on Friday. Can the Orangemen avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
