Lehighton is 2-8 against Pine Grove since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Lehighton Indians will be playing at home against the Pine Grove Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lehighton will bounce into Thursday's game after beating North Schuylkill, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Lehighton walked away with an 8-4 win over North Schuylkill on Wednesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Lehighton.
Carter Birnbaum made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Birnbaum has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Birnbaum was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run.
In other batting news, Aiden Rarick was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Brady O'Donnell, who went 1-for-4 with four RBI, a stolen base, and a run.
Meanwhile, Pine Grove had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 2 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They blew past the Olympians 10-2. Pine Grove might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won three contests by six runs or more this season.
Like Lehighton, Pine Grove also got a great game from a two-way player: Carson Lengle. He struck out 13 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Lengle was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI and a stolen base.
In other batting news, Wyatt Snyder was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3. Ty Drumheller was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Lehighton has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Pine Grove, their victory bumped their record up to 6-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lehighton has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Pine Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.6. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
