The Grafton Bearcats are taking a road trip to take on the University Hawks at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Grafton has three straight victories, University has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Wednesday, Grafton made easy work of Tyler and carried off a 9-3 win. The result was nothing new for the Bearcats, who have now won 14 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Grafton got a massive performance out of Greyson Ramezan, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. What's more, Ramezan posted two hits, the most he's had since back in April. Another player making a difference was JW Nestor, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
Meanwhile, University fell victim to Hedgesville and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 1-0.
James Bryner spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on seven hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, University saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carson Velickoff, who went 2-for-3 with one double. Baret Shuba also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Grafton's victory bumped their record up to 22-7. As for University, their loss dropped their record down to 9-21.
University's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Grafton has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .463. It's a different story for University, though, as they've only averaged .362. Will they be able to contain Grafton's hitters?
Everything went Grafton's way against University in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as Grafton made off with a 15-7 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bearcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
