The Maranacook Black Bears will take on the Dirigo Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Maranacook will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.
While Maranacook's victory against Lisbon wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Black Bears had just enough and edged out the Greyhounds 3-1.
Austin Tibbetts looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Maranacook saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Walker Dumas, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Dirigo had no trouble coming through when it counted. They came out on top against Winthrop by a score of 6-3 on Tuesday.
Trevor Crosby and Hudson Lufkin were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Crosby struck out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Meanwhile, Lufkin tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Dirigo is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-9 otherwise. At the plate, Crosby got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Lufkin got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.
Maranacook's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-5. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Dirigo, their win bumped their record up to 8-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Maranacook has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Dirigo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Maranacook came out on top in a nail-biter against Dirigo in their previous meeting last Monday, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Black Bears since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
