The Skyline Tigers will take on the Early Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
On Tuesday, Skyline came up short against Appleton City and fell 8-5.
Paxton Foster and Noah Long stepped up to the plate in a big way. Foster went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two doubles, while Long went 2-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. Royce Nelson also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Early and Pleasant Hope, and Pleasant Hope kept the tradition alive. The Panthers lost 8-2 to the Pirates on Tuesday.
Early saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Byron Bolton, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs. Bolton has become a key player for the Panthers: the team is 5-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise.
Skyline's defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-8. As for Early, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Skyline has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Early struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Skyline came up short against Early when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 7-3. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
