The Northeastern Knights will challenge the Hagerstown Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Northeastern's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Hagerstown's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Monday, Northeastern didn't have quite enough to beat Wapahani and fell 4-3.
Northeastern saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaleb Moore, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.
Hagerstown never got on the board in their matchup on Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Richmond on Monday. They never let the Red Devils get on the board and left with a 13-0 win. Considering the Tigers have won 14 contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Nick Tinkle made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Tinkle was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Jaxon Hale and Kaden Hall did most of the damage at the plate: Hale went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, four runs, and one double, while Hall went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most runs Hale has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Graham Vinson, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Hagerstown was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Richmond only posted a batting average of .200.
Hagerstown is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Northeastern, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 14-7 record this season.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Northeastern hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .313. However, it's not like Hagerstown struggles in that department as they've averaged .339. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Northeastern skirted past Hagerstown 5-3 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
