The Hamilton Southeastern Royals will take on the Pendleton Heights Arabians at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hamilton Southeastern has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with three straight losses, while Pendleton Heights will come in with four straight wins.
Hamilton Southeastern might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 3-1 to Brownsburg, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.
Josh Lesniewksi was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits.
At the plate, Maddux Bach was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with four stolen bases. Trey McManama also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Pendleton Heights made easy work of New Castle on Friday and carried off a 17-2 victory. Fans of the Arabians have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Brandt Gray was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. Gray was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-4. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three).
In other batting news, Colin Axel-Adams was a standout: he scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Mazon Saxon, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Pendleton Heights always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as New Castle only posted an OBP of .292.
Hamilton Southeastern now has a losing record of 3-4. As for Pendleton Heights, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hamilton Southeastern has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Pendleton Heights struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Hamilton Southeastern came up short against Pendleton Heights when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 7-3. Can the Royals avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
