The Adrian Maples will challenge the Vicksburg Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Adrian's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Vicksburg's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Adrian barely beat Columbia Central the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Maples were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Golden Eagles on Monday. The Maples might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine contests by seven runs or more this season.
Tyler Bruggeman and Joelden Griffin did most of the damage at the plate: Bruggeman got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs, while Griffin went 3-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. That's the most runs Griffin has posted since back in April. Landon DeKeyser was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Adrian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .513. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Columbia Central only posted an OBP of .321.
Meanwhile, Vicksburg entered their tilt with St. Joseph on Monday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Bears a 4-0 shutout.
The result came thanks to Drake Henderson's shutout, as he gave up just three hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Brandon Shoffner, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Vanwoert, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Vicksburg's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-8-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for Adrian, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season.
