The Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains will venture away from home to challenge the Upper Sandusky Rams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Upper Sandusky will be up against a hot Hopewell-Loudon squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Chieftains blew past Old Fort 11-1 on Friday. With that win, the Chieftains brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Hopewell-Loudon got a massive performance out of Brayden Brickman, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 4-for-4. That's the most hits Brickman has posted since back in March of 2024. Thomas Daniel was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.
Hopewell-Loudon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Upper Sandusky). Everything went their way against Colonel Crawford on Wednesday as they made off with a 14-4 victory. With that win, the Rams brought their scoring average up to 7.5 runs per game.
Kaleb Francis made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Francis was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on David Gibson, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Those hits were his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Justin Heilman, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Upper Sandusky's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-1. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Hopewell-Loudon, their record now sits at 7-1.
Saturday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Hopewell-Loudon hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .337. However, it's not like Upper Sandusky struggles in that department as they've averaged .313. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Hopewell-Loudon suffered a grim 19-5 defeat to Upper Sandusky when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can the Chieftains avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
