The Sale Creek Panthers will face off against the East Ridge Pioneers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sale Creek has seven straight victories, East Ridge has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Sale Creek's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Copper Basin as they made off with a 17-0 win. Considering the Panthers have won eight matches by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Dylan Cunningham made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Cunningham was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base.
In other pitching news, Gabriel Abbott looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Joe Bell
| 04/15/25 vs Copper Basin | 3 |
| 03/06/25 @ Tyner Academy | 2 |
| 04/14/25 @ Copper Basin | 1 |
| 04/04/25 @ Midway | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Tyner Academy | 1 |
Back at the plate, Sale Creek got a massive performance out of Joe Bell, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3. Those three runs gave Bell a new career-high. Holden Baker was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Sale Creek kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Copper Basin didn't got any hits.
Meanwhile, East Ridge lost 20-1 to Red Bank on Tuesday.
Sale Creek's victory bumped their record up to 14-4. As for East Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 2-12.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Sale Creek has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like East Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Sale Creek's way against East Ridge when the teams last played back in March of 2024, as Sale Creek made off with an 8-0 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pioneers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
