The Pittsfield Saukees will challenge the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Pittsfield 3.9, Litchfield 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pittsfield's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Wednesday's struggle, when New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly hitters got past them. The Saukees took a 10-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Vipers on Wednesday.
Luke Saxe was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. Kaden Ferguson was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one run.
Greenville hit Litchfield with a four-run seventh inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Purple Panthers fell just short of the Comets by a score of 5-4.
Ethan Saathoff was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out six batters over 6.2 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Saathoff wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Max Leitschuh, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Pittsfield's defeat dropped their record down to 15-7. As for Litchfield, their loss dropped their record down to 16-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Pittsfield has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Litchfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
