The Caro Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Garber Dukes at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Caro 3.8, Garber 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Caro will bounce into Friday's matchup after beating Cass City, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Tigers walked away with a 9-6 win over the Red Hawks on Thursday. The victory was nothing new for the Tigers as they're now sitting on four straight.
Xander Grice was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Trentin Hessling and Ramon Zamora Jr did most of the damage at the plate: Hessling got on base in all five of his plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Zamora Jr got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Garber gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Unionville-Sebewaing, sneaking past 6-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Dukes have posted against the Patriots since April 19, 2017.
Carter Maze looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ryan Brey, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted over his last 12 contests. The team also got some help courtesy of Matthew Pawlaczyk, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Caro's record now sits at 11-6. As for Garber, their record is now 14-7.
Garber's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Caro has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Garber, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Caro keep running through batters, or will the Dukes buck the trend?
Caro came out on top in a nail-biter against Garber in their previous meeting back in May of 2025, sneaking past 1-0. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Dukes have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
