Western Reserve is 2-8 against Crestview since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Western Reserve Roughriders will head out on the road to take on the Crestview Cougars at 5:00 p.m. Western Reserve will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Western Reserve is headed into the contest fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 15-3 margin over New London on Wednesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Cooper Zunis made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits (and not a single walk). Zunis was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Austin Harmeling was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Landyn Wiegel, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Crestview's found some homefield redemption this week after a tough overtime loss to Mapleton on Wednesday. Crestview came out on top against Mapleton by a score of 9-4. The win was some much needed relief for Crestview as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Like Western Reserve, Crestview also got a great game from a two-way player: Jarek Ringler. He struck out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. Ringler was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last eight times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gavin Barker, who scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Dylan Bruner was another key contributor, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Western Reserve's victory ended an eight-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-13. As for Crestview, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Western Reserve has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Crestview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Western Reserve suffered a grim 17-2 defeat to Crestview in their previous matchup on April 3rd. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ringler, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Now that Western Reserve knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
