vs
| 04/15/25 - Away | 18-5 W |
| 04/14/25 - Home | 8-1 W |
| 04/10/24 - Home | 4-1 W |
| 04/09/24 - Away | 12-1 W |
| 04/19/23 - Home | 2-1 W |
| + 5 more games |
North Ridgeville is 9-1 against Elyria since March of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Rangers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Pioneers at 4:15 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Monday.
North Ridgeville headed into their last matchup having not scored more than two runs for three straight, but Firelands let them put that streak behind them. The Rangers blew past the Falcons 13-5 on Saturday. Considering the Rangers have won ten games by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Daniel Lowe and Michael Kuna made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Lowe pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Meanwhile, Kuna tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). At the plate, Lowe went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs, while Kuna went 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Lowe also hit a triple, marking his first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dominic Iezzi, who went 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April. Sean Murphy was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and one double.
North Ridgeville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Firelands only posted a batting average of .148.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Elyria). They were the clear victors by a 14-5 margin over Open Door Christian on Saturday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Pioneers considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Nate Taylor made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Cody Stipe was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two triples, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Maurice Stone, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
North Ridgeville's victory was their 13th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-3. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Elyria, their victory ended a nine-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-19.
Elyria's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: North Ridgeville hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .313. It's a different story for Elyria, though, as they've only averaged .204. Will they be able to contain North Ridgeville's hitters?
Everything went North Ridgeville's way against Elyria in their previous matchup back in April, as North Ridgeville made off with an 18-5 win. Will the Rangers repeat their success, or do the Pioneers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
