The Canton Academy Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the West Harrison Hurricanes at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Canton Academy fell victim to Harrison Central and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Red Rebels by a score of 1-0. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
While West Harrison didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over Horn Lake on Wednesday. The Hurricanes not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since February 16th (when they won 13-2).
Dezi Curley and Cameron Sandel made a splash no matter where they played. Throwing, Curley tossed two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Meanwhile, Sandel tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Curley got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI, while Sandel went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. That's the most hits Sandel has posted since back in April of 2025.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Reese Parker, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. West Harrison is 5-1 when Parker posts two or more runs, but 2-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jesse Gill, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI.
West Harrison was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .556. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Canton Academy's loss dropped their record down to 3-6. As for West Harrison, their record now sits at 7-5.
Everything went Canton Academy's way against West Harrison in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Canton Academy made off with a 13-0 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Hurricanes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
