Shaler Area and Butler are an even 4-4 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Shaler Area Titans will be playing at home against the Butler Golden Tornado at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Shaler Area's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by an 11-0 margin over Penn Hills. The Titans haven't had any issues with the Indians recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Ben Yeckel made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Yeckel was even better at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two RBI, and one double.
In other pitching news, Sam Leo looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Colby Mcguire
| 03/18/25 @ Penn Hills | 2 |
| 03/14/25 @ Mt. Lebanon | 1 |
| 03/12/25 vs Central Catholic | 1 |
Back at the plate, Colby Mcguire was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while going 3-for-3. Mcguire is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Luke Jarzynka, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Butler put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 4-1 victory over Knoch.
Aaron Lunn looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
At the plate, Trent Best and Nash Cuffman did most of the damage at the plate: Best scored a run while going 1-for-2, while Cuffman went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. The dominant performance also gave Best a new career-high in RBI (two). Jacob Szbalskie was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases.
Butler pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Shaler Area, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Everything went Shaler Area's way against Butler in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Shaler Area made off with a 9-3 win. Does Shaler Area have another victory up their sleeve, or will Butler turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
