The Lehighton Indians will take on the Tamaqua Blue Raiders at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are still undefeated after seven games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Lehighton barely beat Jim Thorpe the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Indians' pitcher stepped up to hand the Olympians a 12-0 shutout on Wednesday. Considering the Indians have won five matchups by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Aiden Solt, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1. The team also got some help courtesy of Cody Snyder, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Lehighton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Tamaqua hadn't done well against Blue Mountain recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Blue Raiders skirted past the Eagles 2-0.
Cooper Ansbach made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
Ansbach wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Noah Mateyak, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that Mateyak snagged this season.
Tamaqua's win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Lehighton, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Tamaqua's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lehighton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .388. It's a different story for Tamaqua, though, as they've only averaged .255. Will they be able to contain Lehighton's hitters?
Lehighton came up short against Tamaqua when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 8-3. Can the Indians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
