The Avon Eagles will challenge the Riverside Beavers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The last three games Avon has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Avon fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against Avon Lake on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Shoremen by a score of 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Eagles have suffered against the Shoremen since April 17, 2021.
Jensen Petro was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two hits any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Robby Sykora made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Riverside came tearing into Tuesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Arcs get on the board and left with a 21-0 victory. Considering the Beavers have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Ryan Higginbotham looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Austin Wittreich, who went 3-for-4 with four runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI. Riverside is 7-1 when Wittreich posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise. Spencer Short was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Riverside was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .545. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Avon's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for Riverside, their win bumped their record up to 13-8.
Avon couldn't quite get it done against Riverside in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as they fell 3-0. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
