The Arcola Purple Riders will head out on the road to take on the Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] Titans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Arcola will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Arcola's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They came out on top against Cumberland by a score of 4-0. Those four runs were actually the fewest the Purple Riders have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Tanner Thomas
| 04/23/25 vs Cumberland | 17 |
| 04/10/25 @ Okaw Valley | 15 |
| 03/18/25 vs Salt Fork | 8 |
| 04/17/25 @ Argenta-Oreana | 7 |
| 03/22/25 vs Oakwood | 3 |
Tanner Thomas made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 17 over seven innings pitched. Those 17 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Thomas wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brody Phillips, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] made easy work of Martinsville on Wednesday and carried off a 14-3 victory. The Titans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 11 runs or more this season.
Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] got a massive performance out of Kahle Lee, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Lee has become a key player for the Titans: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-8 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Myles Watson, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. They are 4-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Arcola, they pushed their record up to 11-0 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Arcola has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Arcola's way against Tri-County [Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland] when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Arcola made off with a 14-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Purple Riders since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
