The Salem Quakers will face off against the United Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Rootstown hit Salem with a four-run fourth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Quakers fell just short of the Rovers by a score of 6-5. The Quakers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Bairon Exline was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. Another player making a difference was Colin Riesen, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but United ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They walked away with an 8-3 victory over Columbiana. The game was the first time the Golden Eagles have beaten the Clippers on their field since May 13, 2022.
Parker Newburn and Quentin Taylor were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Newburn struck out 11 batters over 7.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Meanwhile, Taylor pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Newburn has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances. At bat, Newburn got on base in three of his six plate appearances with two RBI, one run, and one double, while Taylor went 3-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI. That's the most doubles Taylor has posted since back in April.
In other batting news, Cavan Jackson was excellent, going 1-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. Braiden Byrns was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
United has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Salem, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-16.
Salem was able to grind out a solid victory over United in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 5-2. Will the Quakers repeat their success, or do the Golden Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
