The Fairview Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Conneaut Area Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Fairview is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
Fairview's hitters will try to repeat the strong performance they gave on Wednesday, when they got past North East's usually-dominant pitching crew. The Tigers put the hurt on the Grape Pickers with a sharp 13-3 victory. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won four games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Tyler Benford made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk). Benford was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Vinny Campoli was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Andrew Stevens, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Fairview hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Conneaut Area). They walked away with a 10-5 win over Northwestern on Thursday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Eagles as it put an end to their six-game losing streak.
The team relied heavily on Ashton Headley, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Logan Nottingham was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
Fairview pushed their record up to 10-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Conneaut Area, their record now sits at 5-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fairview has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Conneaut Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Fairview's way against Conneaut Area when the teams last played back in April, as Fairview made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
