The Pendleton Heights Arabians will venture away from home to face off against the Lawrence North Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Pendleton Heights took a six-run loss the last time they faced off against Shelbyville, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Arabians had just enough and edged out the Golden Bears 11-10.
Brody Stevenson looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Caleb Roark, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Hudson Frank, who went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Pendleton Heights kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.6 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 8.8.
Meanwhile, Lawrence North hadn't done well against North Central recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Wildcats put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 11-1 win. Considering the Wildcats have won six games by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Owen Stone was incredible, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. He has become a key player for Lawrence North: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-5 otherwise. Jeb Brown also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Pendleton Heights is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games. As for Lawrence North, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Pendleton Heights got the 'W' in their previous matchup back in April of 2025 against Lawrence North by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Arabians since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
