Sickles and Jefferson are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2015, but likely not for long. The Sickles Gryphons will face off against the Jefferson Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Sickles barely beat Hillsborough the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Sickles was the clear victors by an 11-4 margin over Hillsborough on Friday. The Gryphons haven't had any issues with the Terriers recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
Jake Taylor looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the first time he hasn't allowed a single hit since back in April of 2024.
Jordan Yost
| 02/11/25 @ King | 4 |
| 03/07/25 @ Hillsborough | 2 |
| 02/27/25 vs Lennard | 2 |
| 02/20/25 @ Durant | 2 |
| 02/18/25 @ Robinson | 2 |
| + 2 more games |
On the hitting side, Sickles got a big performance out of Jordan Yost, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 2-for-3. Yost is becoming a predictor of Sickles' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Shearer, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Sickles kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hillsborough only managed five hits.
Meanwhile, while Jefferson put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Blake. Everything went Jefferson's way against Blake as Jefferson made off with a 15-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Dragons.
KJ Sampson looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Isiah Fernandez was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. Jaylen Watts was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.
Sickles' win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Jefferson, their record is now 6-3.
Jefferson's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Sickles hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .339. It's a different story for Jefferson, though, as they've only averaged .251. Will they be able to contain Sickles' hitters?
Sickles was able to grind out a solid victory over Jefferson in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 6-1. Will Sickles repeat their success, or does Jefferson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
