Avon Grove and Downingtown West are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2021, but likely not for long. The Red Devils will head out to face off against the Whippets at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
Avon Grove fell victim to Bayard Rustin and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Golden Knights. The Red Devils have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Cole Marshall was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
Logan Nelson
| 04/08/26 vs Bayard Rustin | 1 |
| 04/07/26 @ East | 1 |
| 03/31/26 @ Oxford | 2 |
| 03/30/26 vs Coatesville | 1 |
| 03/25/26 @ Bishop Shanahan | 2 |
| 03/24/26 @ Great Valley | 2 |
At the plate, Avon Grove saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Logan Nelson, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Nelson has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last six times he's played.
Meanwhile, Downingtown West had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They put the hurt on the Vikings with a sharp 10-4 victory. While the Whippets didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Jude Manni looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
On the hitting side, Aidan Gamble was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two runs. Another player making a difference was Zach Slade, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Avon Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Downingtown West, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Avon Grove has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Downingtown West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Avon Grove's way against Downingtown West when the teams last played back in May of 2025, as Avon Grove made off with a 12-3 victory. Do the Red Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Whippets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
