The Unioto Shermans will face off against the Lake Catholic Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Unioto sitting on 14 straight victories and Lake Catholic on eight.
Unioto is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Indian Creek a 2-0 shutout.
Not much got past Blake Sanders, who gave up just seven hits to keep Indian Creek off the board.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Lake Catholic faced off against Canfield on Thursday. The Cougars put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 10-0 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their one-run performance the game before.
The result came thanks to Shea Sievers's shutout, as he gave up just two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Patrick Radigan, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Micah Nytrae, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Lake Catholic always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .583. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Canfield only posted an OBP of .182.
Unioto pushed their record up to 24-6 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Lake Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 24-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Unioto has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lake Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
