The Blacklick Valley Vikings will head out to square off against the Harmony Area Owls at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Blacklick Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Blacklick Valley's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Shanksville Stonycreek as they made off with a 10-0 win. The result was nothing new for Blacklick Valley, who have now won six matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Landon Turcheck looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
On the hitting side, Blacklick Valley got a massive performance out of Greg Schilling, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. That's the most doubles Schilling has posted since back in April. Eli Sheesley also deserves some recognition as he hit his first doubles of the season.
Blacklick Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Harmony Area made easy work of Ferndale on Thursday and carried off a 7-0 victory.
The result came thanks to JJ Sward's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up 12 Ks. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Hunter Pearce, who went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Pearce, who went 2-for-5 with three stolen bases and two runs.
Harmony Area has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-10 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Blacklick Valley, their record now sits at 15-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Blacklick Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Harmony Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Blacklick Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Harmony Area when the teams last played back in April, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
