The Cumberland Valley Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Northeastern Bobcats at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Cumberland Valley 3.2, Northeastern 3.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Wednesday, Cumberland Valley sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Mifflin County.
Curtis Shinn tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Alex Crosby, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.
Meanwhile, Northeastern had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it seven on Tuesday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Panthers.
Conner Rippo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Rippo was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
In other batting news, Derek Gross was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Northeastern pushed their record up to 12-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Cumberland Valley, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cumberland Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Northeastern struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
