The Western Branch Bruins will venture away from home to challenge the Grassfield Grizzlies at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Western Branch sitting on four straight wins and Grassfield on seven.
Western Branch's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Indian River with a sharp 15-0 victory. Considering the Bruins have won six games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Ian Taylor, who gave up just four hits to keep Indian River off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Logan Adams, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. Carter Walter was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
Western Branch was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Indian River only posted a batting average of .261.
Grassfield came out on top against King's Fork on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive eight-run fifth inning. The Grizzlies blew past the Bulldogs 15-1. The contest marked the Grizzlies' most dominant win of the season.
Joel Flynn looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March.
At the plate, BJ McIntyre was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Hayden Roach, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Grassfield's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Western Branch, their record now sits at 10-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Western Branch has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Grassfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Western Branch was able to grind out a solid victory over Grassfield when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 5-1. Will the Bruins repeat their success, or do the Grizzlies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
