The Greencastle-Antrim Blue Devils will head out on the road to take on the Spring Grove Rockets at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Greencastle-Antrim will be strutting in after a victory while Spring Grove will be coming in after a defeat.
On Wednesday, Greencastle-Antrim needed a bit of extra time to put away West Perry. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Mustangs, sneaking past 4-3. The win was some much needed relief for the Blue Devils as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Carter McCauley spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Greencastle-Antrim's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Andrew Weaver, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Spring Grove suffered their closest loss since April 17th on Wednesday. They fell just short of Central York by a score of 5-3. The Rockets have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.
Konner Marshall made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI. Holden Gobrecht also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
The win got Greencastle-Antrim back to even at 8-8. As for Spring Grove, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-11-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Greencastle-Antrim has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Spring Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Greencastle-Antrim came out on top in a nail-biter against Spring Grove when the teams last played back in April of 2016, sneaking past 6-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
