Royals
| 05/21/26 vs Shenandoah | 2 |
| 05/16/26 vs Centerville | 11 |
| 05/16/26 vs Centerville | 7 |
| 05/14/26 @ University | 0 |
| 05/12/26 @ Bethesda Christian | 11 |
| + 16 more games |
Eastern Hancock is 2-8 against Blackford since May of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Royals will host the Bruins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Hancock is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.
Eastern Hancock is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 11 runs on Saturday, they were much more limited against Shenandoah on Thursday. They took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Raiders.
Eastern Hancock got a good showing from Gavin Shultz, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Shultz a new career-low in walks (zero).
On the hitting side, Eastern Hancock saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Jenkins, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Blackford and Adams Central meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Thursday. The Bruins narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Jets 8-6.
Blackford let Koen Pitts and Owen Norton run wild. Pitts went 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Norton went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs. Norton is becoming a predictor of Blackford's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 6-3 (and 6-12 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Bentley Storer, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Blackford hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Adams Central struck out ten times.
Blackford's victory bumped their record up to 12-15. As for Eastern Hancock, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Eastern Hancock has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Blackford struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Eastern Hancock was able to grind out a solid win over Blackford in their previous meeting back in May of 2025, winning 9-4. Will the Royals repeat their success, or do the Bruins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
