The New Brighton Lions will venture away from home to face off against the Freedom Area Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. New Brighton is coming into the contest hot, having won their last five games.
New Brighton is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 17-0 margin over Aliquippa on Monday. Give the Lions' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's fourth straight shutout.
The team relied heavily on Casey Bloom, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Jaxon Childs also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
New Brighton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .688. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Freedom Area was not the first on the board on Thursday, but they got there more often. They skirted past Sewickley Academy 13-11. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs.
Elias Boyd was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Another player making a difference was Mason O'Donnell, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
New Brighton's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Freedom Area, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Friday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. New Brighton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .368. However, it's not like Freedom Area struggles in that department as they've averaged .329. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went New Brighton's way against Freedom Area in their previous meeting last Tuesday, as New Brighton made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
