Thomas Jefferson is on a four-game streak of home losses, and Lutheran a three-game streak of away losses. However, someone's due for a change in luck on Friday. The Thomas Jefferson Spartans will welcome the Lutheran Lions at 4:00 p.m. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for Thomas Jefferson's offense. They came up short against Evergreen on Tuesday, falling 6-0. The game marked the first time this year in which the Spartans were not able to get on the board.
Max Feierstein was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off five hits (and not a single walk). What's more, he gave up only zero walks, the fewest he's had since back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, Lutheran suffered their closest loss since April 30, 2024 on Thursday. They wound up with the same score they had in their last game (3-1), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time.
Lutheran also got a good showing from Ian Stephenitch, who struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Stephenitch has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Lutheran saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tyce Macnamara, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Lutheran's defeat dropped their record down to 6-5. As for Thomas Jefferson, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Thomas Jefferson has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lutheran struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Thomas Jefferson might still be hurting after the 7-1 defeat they got from Lutheran in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Spartans have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
