The Carroll Cougars will head out to take on the Western Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Wednesday, Carroll didn't have quite enough to beat North Miami and fell 8-7. The Cougars have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Owen Zinn was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Xavier Williams also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Western waltzed into their match on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They came out on top against the Braves by a score of 8-3. Eight seems to be a good number for the Panthers as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Nathan Condo looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Kyler Norman, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Jason Dickison was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Western was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Maconaquah only posted a batting average of .222.
Carroll's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Western, they pushed their record up to 8-1 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Carroll has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Western struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Carroll suffered a grim 19-4 defeat to Western in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
