Baseball Game Preview: Palmyra Cougars vs. Red Land Patriots

The Palmyra Cougars will square off against the Red Land Patriots at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Palmyra will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.

Palmyra proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by 12) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out Gettysburg 4-2.

Jonathan Strohecker spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances.

Alex Dorta

Hits (Career)

05/07/25 @ Gettysburg	3
03/27/25 @ Bishop McDevitt	2
03/25/25 vs Hershey	2
03/21/25 @ Lebanon	2
03/20/25 vs Elizabethtown	2

At the plate, Alex Dorta and Aiden Willard did most of the damage at the plate: Dorta went 3-for-4 with one triple and one run, while Willard went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those three hits gave Dorta a new career-high.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between Red Land and Northern York, and Northern York kept the tradition alive. The Patriots lost 10-3 to the Polar Bears on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Patriots have suffered since May 9, 2024.

Red Land saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cole Collier, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run. Lucas Elder was another, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.

Palmyra pushed their record up to 19-0 with the win, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for Red Land, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-11.

Palmyra skirted past Red Land 1-0 in their previous matchup back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cougars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.