The Euclid Panthers will face off against the Garfield Heights Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Garfield Heights took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Euclid, who comes in off a win.
Euclid headed into their last game having not scored more than two runs for five straight, but Cleveland Central Catholic let them put that streak behind them. The Panthers put the hurt on the Ironmen with a sharp 14-2 victory on Tuesday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Panthers as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.
Mike Kalinowski made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single hit and allowed only two earned runs while striking out ten over four innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That double was his first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Malik Abdul-Wali, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and four runs. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Jeanpaul Hernandez-Lamoureaux was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
Euclid was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cleveland Central Catholic only posted a batting average of .000.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks at the plate in their last three contests, Garfield Heights finally came back down to earth on Monday. They came up short against Maple Heights, falling 20-1. The Bulldogs haven't had much luck with the Mustangs recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Garfield Heights saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was D'COREY MARTIN, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.
Garfield Heights' loss dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Euclid, their victory bumped their record up to 5-11.
Euclid suffered a grim 13-6 defeat to Garfield Heights in their previous matchup back in April of 2022. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
