Kirtland is on a nine-game streak of home wins, while Berkshire is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Kirtland Hornets will take on the Berkshire Badgers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
On Friday, Kirtland came up short against Fairview and fell 5-2.
Max Paul was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Kirtland saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Will Bates, who went 3-for-4 with a stolen base.
Meanwhile, Berkshire also suffered a loss in their last game, but this one to Perry by a score of 7-2. Berkshire has struggled against Perry recently, as their contest on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Kirtland's defeat dropped their record down to 13-3. As for Berkshire, their loss dropped their record down to 9-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Kirtland has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Berkshire struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Kirtland couldn't quite finish off Berkshire in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 and fell 5-3. Thankfully for Kirtland, Troy Hornak (who tossed seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
