The LaBrae Vikings are taking a road trip to square off against the Garfield G-Men at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (LaBrae has six straight wins, Garfield has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
LaBrae is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Newton Falls with a sharp 16-1 victory on Thursday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Vikings with their most commanding win of the season.
Leah DeArmitt spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on one hit and racked up 12 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Riley Rowe, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Syrina Gantt-Gargano, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
LaBrae was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .484. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .355 or higher in six consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Garfield fell victim to Champion and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Golden Flashes. The contest marked the first time this year in which the G-Men were not able to get on the board.
LaBrae pushed their record up to 10-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for Garfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
LaBrae came out on top in a nail-biter against Garfield in their previous matchup last Monday, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
