vs
| 05/06/24 - Home | 4-1 W |
| 05/03/24 - Away | 6-7 L |
| 04/13/23 - Home | 3-0 W |
| 04/03/23 - Away | 5-0 W |
| 05/17/22 - Away | 10-1 W |
| + 5 more games |
Central is 8-2 against Hampshire since April of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Rockets will host the Whip-Purs at 4:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Central 3.3, Hampshire 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Central is returning to their home field after beating Prairie Ridge on theirs, despite the fact Prairie Ridge has dominated at home this season. The Rockets came out on top in a nail-biter against the Wolves on Wednesday, sneaking past 2-1.
Central saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Connor Finn, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and one run. That triple marked the first that Finn has hit this season. Another was Jake Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with one double.
Meanwhile, Hampshire waltzed into their match on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They put the hurt on the CRU with a sharp 18-3 victory. The Whip-Purs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by six runs or more this season.
Joseph Rodriguez looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April.
On the hitting side, Jonathan Alexander was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, three RBI, and one double. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Mazur, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs.
Central pushed their record up to 14-11 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Hampshire, their win bumped their record up to 21-7.
Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Hampshire when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 4-1. Will the Rockets repeat their success, or do the Whip-Purs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
