Donegal is 7-2 against Garden Spot since March of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Donegal Indians will look to defend their home field against the Garden Spot Spartans at 4:15 p.m. Donegal is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.
On Wednesday, Donegal earned a 9-4 win over Octorara Area.
Condran Leland and Sawyer Floyd did most of the damage at the plate: Leland scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Floyd scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Shaun DiBello, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Garden Spot fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Cocalico on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 2-1. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs Garden Spot has scored all season.
Ryan Speers was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over 5.2 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Garden Spot saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Karson Weaver, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Weaver has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
Donegal's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs per game. As for Garden Spot, their defeat ended a six-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Donegal has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Garden Spot struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Donegal came out on top in a nail-biter against Garden Spot in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Will Donegal repeat their success, or does Garden Spot have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
