The Pickerington Central Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Pickerington North Panthers at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Pickerington Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Pickerington Central stacked a seventh blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. Everything went their way against Reynoldsburg as Pickerington Central made off with a 10-0 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what Pickerington Central needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
Jake Soha made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Soha has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances. Soha was also big at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Colton Landtiser, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Ben Thornberry, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but Pickerington North had to settle for a 6-4 defeat against Lincoln on Friday.
Nic Markle was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Wesley Barnes was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Pickerington Central's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-3-1. As for Pickerington North, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 14-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pickerington Central has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pickerington North 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.
Pickerington Central skirted past Pickerington North 2-0 in their previous meeting back in April of 2022. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Pickerington North's Kirby Shaffery, who didn't allow a single earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Pickerington Central to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
