The Talawanda Brave will venture away from home to challenge the Batavia Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Talawanda has struggled recently with six losses in a row, while Batavia will arrive with seven straight victories.
Thursday just wasn't the day for Talawanda's offense. They came up short against Eaton on Thursday, falling 7-0.
Talawanda saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Eddie Tanner, who went 2-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Batavia beat Goshen 9-4 on Wednesday. That's two games straight that the Bulldogs have won by exactly five runs.
Derek Richardson made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over seven innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Max Mehlman, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. Brayden Schmittou also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Batavia pushed their record up to 17-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Talawanda, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-15.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Talawanda has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Batavia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8 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.
