The Shadyside Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the Frontier Cougars at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Shadyside's pitching crew has only allowed 1.6 runs per game this season, so Frontier's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Shadyside took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Monroe Central 4-2.
Aiden Clegg tossed a big game, tossing 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
On the hitting side, Shadyside saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cole Micker, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. Trenton Marling also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Frontier didn't have quite enough to beat Valley on Tuesday and fell 8-7. The Cougars have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Davyn Ferrell made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Austin Kephart was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Frontier now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Shadyside, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Shadyside has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Frontier struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Shadyside took their victory against Frontier when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
