The Conneaut Area Eagles will challenge the North East Grape Pickers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Conneaut Area and six for North East.
On Monday, Conneaut Area came up short against Corry and fell 6-1.
Thaddeus Bland
| 04/24/26 @ Sharon | 5 |
| 03/25/26 vs Greenville | 4 |
| 04/17/26 @ Cambridge Springs | 3 |
| 04/21/26 vs Northwestern | 1 |
| 03/24/26 vs Sharon | 1 |
Conneaut Area got a good showing from Thaddeus Bland, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The Eagles are 4-2 when Bland allows three or fewer hits, but 0-3 otherwise.
At the plate, Conneaut Area saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Owen Grafton, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run. That stolen base marked the first that Grafton has snagged this season.
The home team had won the previous five meetings between North East and Northwestern, and Northwestern kept the tradition alive. The Grape Pickers fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 9-8 on Monday. While the Grape Pickers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Wildcats 7-1 in the first period.
Rylan Orengia and Jayden Wittman did some serious damage despite the final result: Orengia got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Wittman went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Braydon Cornman, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one run.
North East's loss dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Conneaut Area, they now have a losing record of 4-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Conneaut Area has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Conneaut Area was able to grind out a solid win over North East when the teams last played two weeks ago, winning 5-2. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Grape Pickers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
