The East Palestine Bulldogs are taking a road trip to take on the Heartland Christian Lions at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. East Palestine is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
East Palestine's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Leetonia as they made off with an 8-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Bears: they've now won six in a row.
Cale Moraski made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 14 over five innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. East Palestine is 8-1 when Moraski posts two or more stolen bases, but 3-6 otherwise.
Peyton Rutledge
| 05/07/25 vs Leetonia | 2 |
| 04/22/25 vs David Anderson | 1 |
| 04/16/25 vs Wellsville | 1 |
| 04/16/25 vs Wellsville | 1 |
| 04/12/25 @ Chaney | 1 |
In other batting news, Peyton Rutledge and Jaxson Robb did most of the damage at the plate: Rutledge got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run, while Robb got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. Those two stolen bases gave Rutledge a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Tommy Beatty, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Heartland Christian was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They came up short against Columbiana, falling 13-7.
Heartland Christian saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jack Morgan, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Johnny Meyer also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Heartland Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 3-12. As for East Palestine, their record is now 11-7.
Heartland Christian's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. East Palestine has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Heartland Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 strikeouts. Will East Palestine keep running through batters, or will the Lions buck the trend?
East Palestine couldn't quite get it done against Heartland Christian when the teams last played two weeks ago as they fell 11-7. Can the Bulldogs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
