The Ellwood City Wolverine will face off against the Quaker Valley Quakers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Ellwood City got the win against Sto-Rox by a conclusive 8-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wolverine.
Jordan Keller was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run. Gino Biondi was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, while Quaker Valley put up plenty of runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Beaver Falls. The Quakers blew past the Tigers 12-0. The Quakers haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Oscar Roig made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Henry Zupanc, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kolton Johnson, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Quaker Valley hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive contests.
Ellwood City's victory bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Quaker Valley, their win bumped their record up to 8-2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ellwood City has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Quaker Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ellwood City was able to grind out a solid victory over Quaker Valley in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 5-0. Will the Wolverine repeat their success, or do the Quakers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
