The Roncalli Royals will challenge the Shelbyville Golden Bears at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Roncalli 2.6, Shelbyville 4.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Roncalli is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Bloomington South, who was ranked 21st at the time (Roncalli was ranked seventh). The Royals took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Panthers on Thursday. The Royals' defeat signaled the end of their 12-game winning streak.
Roncalli saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sam Roeder, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Shelbyville had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.9 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Saturday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 6-5 W against the Owls.
Reece Prickett was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one run. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brayden Smith, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run. Grantland Fitzgerald was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Shelbyville pushed their record up to 17-7 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Roncalli, their loss dropped their record down to 22-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Roncalli hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Shelbyville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
