The Curwensville Golden Tide will take on the West Branch Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Curwensville turned things around against Moshannon Valley on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-2 win over the Black Knights/Damsels.
Lawson Neiswender
| 04/29/25 vs Moshannon Valley | 10 |
| 04/01/25 @ West Branch | 7 |
| 03/20/25 vs Juniata Valley | 7 |
| 04/26/24 vs Harmony Area | 7 |
| 05/02/24 @ West Branch | 6 |
Lawson Neiswender made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out ten batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Hunter Tkacik was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024.
Curwensville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They are 2-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for West Branch, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They had just enough and edged out Williamsburg 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Warriors have posted against the Blue Pirates since May 5, 2022.
Like Curwensville, West Branch also got a great game from a two-way player: Lukas Colton. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Colton also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because West Branch is undefeated when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-5 otherwise. Colton was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Coby Kephart, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one stolen base. He has become a key player for West Branch: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise.
West Branch's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Curwensville, their win bumped their record up to 5-8.
Curwensville suffered a grim 14-2 defeat to West Branch in their previous matchup on April 1st. Will the Golden Tide have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
