The Beaver Bobcats will square off against the Belle Vernon Leopards on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Beaver let North Hills stack four runs on them in the fourth inning on Thursday but luckily Beaver prevailed anyway. The Bobcats walked away with an 8-4 win over the Indians.
The team relied heavily on Braylon Chontos, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of RJ Sebek, who went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Belle Vernon rose to the challenge on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Trojans a 7-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Leopards, who have now won 11 contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Parker Lind, who gave up just three hits and racked up 13 Ks to keep Derry off the board. Lind has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Cole Matusik was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Connor Bergman, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
With the victory, Belle Vernon broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 14-6. As for Beaver, their win bumped their record up to 12-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Beaver has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Belle Vernon struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Beaver beat Belle Vernon 5-0 when the teams last played back in May of 2019. Will the Bobcats repeat their success, or do the Leopards have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
