Ocoee is 2-8 against East Ridge since March of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Ocoee Knights have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the East Ridge Knights at 7:00 p.m. East Ridge took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Ocoee, who comes in off a win.
Last Tuesday, Ocoee made easy work of Evans and carried off a 7-1 victory.
Trenton Nice tossed a big game, tossing 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (he also didn't allow any walks). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. Brandon Smith relieved him and did a solid job, pitching 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Angel Martinez, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, East Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell just short of Boardman by a score of 3-2.
Colin Raleigh was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over six innings pitched.
At the plate, East Ridge saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Asa Benz, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Ocoee pushed their record up to 7-8 with that win, which was their third straight at home. As for East Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ocoee has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ocoee came up short against East Ridge in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, falling 11-7. Thankfully for Ocoee, Ethon Tesmer (who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over six innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
