The Manheim Central Barons will take on the Donegal Indians at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Manheim Central 2.9, Donegal 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Ephrata hit Manheim Central with a four-run fourth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Barons fell 7-2 to the Mountaineers. The Barons haven't had much luck with the Mountaineers recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Manheim Central saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chase Book, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Cody Hess also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Donegal, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They walked away with an 8-5 win over Manheim Township on Saturday.
Ethan Laubach tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit.
At the plate, Evan Niehaus was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April. Andrew Fabian was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Donegal pushed their record up to 14-5 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Manheim Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Manheim Central has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Donegal struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Manheim Central skirted past Donegal 2-1 when the teams last played back in April. Do the Barons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Indians turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
