The scorekeeper got an easy start on Wednesday as neither Pickerington North nor Upper Arlington made it on the board until the seventh inning. The Panthers fell just short of the Golden Bears by a score of 4-3. The Panthers were not able to make up for their defeat to the Golden Bears from their previous meeting back in April of 2025.

Sam Waites
| 05/13/26 vs Upper Arlington | 7 |
| 05/04/26 @ Central Crossing | 10 |
| 04/13/26 vs Central Crossing | 5 |
Sam Waites spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jack Chabot made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Wes Welling was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Pickerington North's loss was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 15-8. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.5 runs. As for Upper Arlington, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 8-12.
Looking ahead, Pickerington North will challenge Newark at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Panthers 2.7, the Wildcats 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned. As for Upper Arlington, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Pickerington Central at 5:00 p.m.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps