The North East Grape Pickers will head out to take on the Conneaut Area Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. North East is coming into the contest on a six-game losing streak.
Northwestern hit North East with a five-run seventh inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Grape Pickers fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 9-8. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last six times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Rylan Orengia and Jayden Wittman did some serious damage despite the final result: Orengia got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Wittman went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Braydon Cornman was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, Conneaut Area came up short against Corry on Monday and fell 6-1.
Conneaut Area also got a good showing from Thaddeus Bland, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The Eagles are 4-2 when Bland allows three or fewer hits, but 0-3 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Conneaut Area saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Owen Grafton, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run. That stolen base marked the first that Grafton has snagged this season.
Conneaut Area now has a losing record of 4-5. As for North East, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-7.
North East's speedy runners might be the difference in Wednesday's matchup. The Grape Pickers have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Conneaut Area, though, as they've been averaging only 1.1 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will North East continue to outrun the ball?
North East came up short against Conneaut Area in their previous matchup two weeks ago, falling 5-2. Can the Grape Pickers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
