The Pine-Richland Rams will face off against the Shaler Area Titans on Tuesday. The last five games Pine-Richland has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Pine-Richland is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Pennsylvania's top teams: Bethel Park, who was ranked tenth at the time (Pine-Richland was ranked third). The Rams beat the Black Hawks on Tuesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 5-4. The Rams haven't had any issues with the Black Hawks recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Keegan Deihl spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered three earned (and one unearned) runs on three hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Jake Waddell and Logan Plummer did most of the damage at the plate: Waddell went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one double, while Plummer got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base. That's the most runs Plummer has posted since back in April of 2024. Sam Heckert was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Shaler Area had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Indians 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Titans have posted since April 7th.
Shaler Area has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Pine-Richland, they pushed their record up to 21-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.
Pine-Richland might still be hurting after the 7-0 loss they got from Shaler Area in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Rams avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
