The Pioneer Valley Regional Panthers will face off against the Drury Blue Devils at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Drury will be up against a hot Pioneer Valley Regional squad: the team just extended their winning streak to 13. The Panthers' pitcher stepped up to hand Hampshire Regional a 7-0 shutout on Wednesday.
The result came thanks to Ben Werner's shutout, as he gave up just six hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jackson Glazier, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, one triple, and one run. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Mauthe, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Drury made easy work of McCann Tech on Wednesday and carried off a 9-2 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Devils.
Connor Hinkell was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out 18 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Hinkell was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Hinkell wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Julian Faliciano, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Pioneer Valley Regional pushed their record up to 13-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Drury, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.
Thursday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Pioneer Valley Regional has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .472. However, it's not like Drury struggles in that department as they've averaged .518. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
