Marion Local hasn't had much luck against Shawnee recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Flyers will venture away from home to challenge the Indians at 5:30 p.m. Marion Local is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Marion Local barely beat Parkway the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Flyers put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 11-4 win on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Flyers in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won four in a row.
Parker Hess
| 04/17/25 @ Parkway | 7 |
| 04/10/25 vs Fort Recovery | 4 |
| 03/29/25 vs Spencerville | 0 |
| 05/22/24 @ Minster | 6 |
| 05/06/24 vs Memorial | 9 |
Parker Hess was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Marion Local got a massive performance out of Ethan Heitkamp, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and one double. That double was Heitkamp's first of the season. Ian Rindler was another key player, going 4-for-5 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Marion Local was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Shawnee was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They fell 10-7 to Bath.
AJ Croft was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Cam Barker, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Marion Local's win was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Shawnee, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.
Shawnee's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Marion Local has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .465. It's a different story for Shawnee, though, as they've only averaged .321. Will they be able to contain Marion Local's hitters? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
