The Connersville Spartans will head out to take on the East Central Trojans at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Connersville barely beat Union County the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Spartans were the clear victors by a 16-5 margin over the Patriots on Tuesday. That looming 16-5 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Spartans yet this season.
Parker Flanigan and Brody Shearer did most of the damage at the plate: Flanigan got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Shearer went 3-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. That's the most hits Shearer has posted since back in April of 2024. Landyn Geise was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs.
Connersville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .448. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask East Central). They came out on top against Connersville by a score of 15-11 on Monday. With that victory, the Trojans brought their scoring average up to 7.1 runs per game.
Cole Reynolds made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of East Central's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 0-3 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, East Central got a massive performance out of Noah Long, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Long has become a key player for the Trojans: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three hits, but 1-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Collin Harrill, who went 3-for-5 with three runs and two doubles.
Connersville has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for East Central, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.
Connersville couldn't quite get it done against East Central when the teams last played on Monday as they fell 15-11. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
