The Agape Christian Knights will square off against the Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Agape Christian will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Friday, then bounced right back against Carrier Mills-Stonefort on Monday. Agape Christian blew past Carrier Mills-Stonefort 17-5. The win continues a trend for the Knights in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won three in a row.
Aiden Bullock and Jonah Seals were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Bullock pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Seals tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. At bat, Bullock scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Seals scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Jacob Miller was a standout: he scored a run while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Maddox Dillon was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Zeigler-Royalton). They were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over Woodlawn on Wednesday. With that victory, the Tornadoes brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Like Agape Christian, Zeigler-Royalton also got a great game from a two-way player: Chase Cole. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time Cole hasn't allowed a single hit since back in May of 2024. He was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing four bases while going 1-for-3. Those four stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Aidan Skropka, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Bradden Mays, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3.
Zeigler-Royalton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .535. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Agape Christian's win was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-1. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Zeigler-Royalton, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
Agape Christian suffered a grim 11-3 defeat to Zeigler-Royalton when the teams last played back in March of 2023. Can Agape Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
