The Hancock Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Turkeyfoot Valley Area Rams at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hancock will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Hancock is headed into the contest fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Paw Paw with a sharp 13-3 victory on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Shawn Thomas made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit over four innings pitched. Thomas has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive pitching appearances. Thomas was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Blaire Ray, who scored three runs and stole five bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Tyler Clingerman was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Turkeyfoot Valley Area fell victim to Blacklick Valley and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They wound up on the wrong side of a tough 16-0 walloping at the hands of the Vikings. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Turkeyfoot Valley Area in their matchups with Blacklick Valley: they've now lost five in a row.
Turkeyfoot Valley Area saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bryce Nicholson, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases.
Hancock is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 5-8 record this season. As for Turkeyfoot Valley Area, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hancock has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Turkeyfoot Valley Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Hancock took their victory against Turkeyfoot Valley Area in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 11-0. Will Hancock repeat their success, or does Turkeyfoot Valley Area have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
