The Spruce Creek Hawks will head out on the road to square off against the Timber Creek Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Spruce Creek is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged Bartram Trail out 7-6.
Spruce Creek got a great performance from Garrett Grant as he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Grant has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Spruce Creek's victory was truly a team effort as nine different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Devon Crown, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Badalato, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Timber Creek entered their tilt with Flagler Palm Coast with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. They never let the Bulldogs onto the board and left with a 1-0 win on Tuesday. That's two games straight that Timber Creek has won by just one run.
The result came thanks to Connor Mulready's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up nine Ks.
On the hitting side, Michael Thomas was excellent, going 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, a double, and an RBI.
Spruce Creek has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-9 record this season. As for Timber Creek, their victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Spruce Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Timber Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Spruce Creek came out on top in a nail-biter against Timber Creek in their previous matchup back in April, sneaking past 2-0. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mulready, who pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Spruce Creek still be able to contain Mulready? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
