The Boardman Spartans will face off against the Jefferson Area Falcons at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Boardman knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Jefferson Area likes a good challenge.
Boardman is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Ohio's top teams: Canfield, who was ranked 20th at the time (Boardman was ranked ninth). The Spartans were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over the Cardinals on Friday. Considering the Spartans have won 15 matchups by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Tori Strines
| 05/16/25 @ Canfield | 1 |
| 05/15/25 vs Roosevelt | 1 |
| 05/12/25 vs West Branch | 1 |
Tori Strines made a splash no matter where she played. She pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Strines was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.
In other batting news, Addie Rudge was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run and five RBI. Jocelynn Torres was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Boardman hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least three batters in three consecutive games.
Jefferson Area couldn't beat Pymatuning Valley on Saturday even though they stacked four runs on them in the third inning. The Falcons might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 15-8 to the Lakers, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. The Falcons haven't had much luck with the Lakers recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Marillia Matuz made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 4-for-5 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Rylee Demattia, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI and one double.
Boardman is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 16 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Jefferson Area, their loss dropped their record down to 13-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Boardman hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Jefferson Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Boardman couldn't quite finish off Jefferson Area in their previous meeting back in April of 2016 and fell 3-1. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
