The Grove Ridgerunners are taking a road trip to square off against the Pryor Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Grove's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Pryor's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Grove is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since March 10th on Thursday. They came up short against Claremore, falling 9-3. The Ridgerunners haven't had much luck with the Zebras recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, Pryor waltzed into their game on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They walked away with a 9-4 win over the Buffaloes. That's two games straight that the Tigers have won by exactly five runs.
Gavin Roberts made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Carter Sloan, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with five RBI and one double. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Clinton Stohler, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI.
Pryor kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in seven consecutive matches.
Grove's defeat dropped their record down to 14-10. As for Pryor, their record now sits at 21-10.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Grove has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Pryor struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Grove suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Pryor in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Ridgerunners avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
