The York Wildcats will face off against the Fryeburg Raiders at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Fryeburg will challenge a team with plenty of momentum: York extended their winning streak to three on Wednesday. The Wildcats' pitcher stepped up to hand Poland a 7-0 shutout. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by seven runs or more this season.
Lucas Ketchum
| 04/30/25 @ Poland | 1 |
| 04/25/25 @ Morse | 0 |
| 04/18/25 @ Biddeford | 2 |
Not much got past Lucas Ketchum, who gave up just a hit and racked up nine Ks to keep Poland off the board. Ketchum has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, John Jacobsohn was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. Robbie Hanscom was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Fryeburg). Everything went their way against Spruce Mountain on Wednesday as they made off with a 16-1 victory. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Raiders with their most commanding win of the season.
Oliver Dean made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Dean was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Jagger Helwig and Alex Allain did most of the damage at the plate: Helwig went 2-for-3 with eight RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Allain got on base in all five of his plate appearances with five runs, two stolen bases, and one double. With that strong performance, Allain is now averaging an impressive 2.7 runs per game. Another player making a difference was Camden Blake, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double.
Fryeburg always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .625. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
York pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Fryeburg, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Friday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. York has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .500. However, it's not like Fryeburg struggles in that department as they've averaged .442. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
York skirted past Fryeburg 10-8 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
