Pirates
| 04/17/25 vs Bath County | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Model | 1 |
| 04/09/25 @ Menifee County | 25 |
| 04/08/25 @ Williamsburg | 16 |
| 04/02/25 @ Paris | 9 |
| + 5 more games |
The Berea Pirates will venture away from home to square off against the Jackson City Tigers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Berea is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.
Berea fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Bath County on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 3-2. The defeat continues a trend for the Pirates in their meetings with the Wildcats: they've now lost three in a row.
Berea saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Slone, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases. Slone has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Tommie Banderman was another, going 2-for-5 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Jackson City took on Lee County on Thursday. The Tigers walked away with a 9-4 win over the Bobcats. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tigers.
Gavan Ritchie and Kannan Lovins made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Ritchie tossed 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Meanwhile, Lovins struck out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits (and only one walk). Ritchie also tossed a walk, which is notable because Jackson City is 6-2 when he allows at most two walks, but 2-4 otherwise. At the plate, Ritchie went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI, while Lovins went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caige Ellis, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Jackson City is undefeated when Ellis posts two or more runs, but 3-6 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Ryan Little, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Jackson City's record is now 8-6. As for Berea, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Saturday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Berea has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .476. However, it's not like Jackson City struggles in that department as they've averaged .465. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Berea might still be hurting after the 15-5 defeat they got from Jackson City when the teams last played back in March. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
