The Wayne Blue Devils will take on the Adams Central Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Wayne sitting on four straight wins and Adams Central on seven.
Wayne proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by 11) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Auburn, sneaking past 2-1.
Gavin Redden spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Wayne's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Drew Reinhardt, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
The home team had won the previous two meetings between Adams Central and St. Paul/Palmer, and Adams Central kept the tradition alive. The Patriots were the clear victors by a 9-1 margin over the Wildcats on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won 15 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Adams Central also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Jacob Reichstein gave up only one earned run on five hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jaron Johnson, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted over his last 12 matchups. Another player making a difference was Jackson Sughroue, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Wayne's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-9. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Adams Central, their win bumped their record up to 22-6.
Wayne skirted past Adams Central 12-11 in their previous meeting back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blue Devils since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
