The Tuscola Mountaineers will face off against the Stuart W. Cramer Storm on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Tuscola is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Ashe County a 10-0 shutout. The win was familiar territory for the Mountaineers, who have now won six matchups in a row.
Amos Rich
| 05/06/25 vs Ashe County | 9 |
| 04/29/25 @ Swain County | 5 |
| 04/23/25 @ West Henderson | 10 |
| 04/01/25 @ Pisgah | 19 |
| 03/21/25 @ Burns | 7 |
| + 2 more games |
Amos Rich made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Tuscola let Evan Conner and Bo West run wild. Conner went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double, while West went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Tuscola was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .333 or higher in six consecutive games.
Stuart W. Cramer came out on top against Central Davidson on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run fourth inning. The Storm blew past the Spartans 8-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Storm.
Not much got past Mason Price, who gave up just six hits to keep Central Davidson off the board.
At the plate, Stuart W. Cramer saw eight different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jack Scholz, who went 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That's the most hits Scholz has posted since back in March.
Stuart W. Cramer pushed their record up to 17-7 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Tuscola, their victory bumped their record up to 19-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Tuscola has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Stuart W. Cramer struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Tuscola took their win against Stuart W. Cramer in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mountaineers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
