Milton Hershey hasn't had much luck against East Pennsboro recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Spartans will be playing at home against the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Milton Hershey headed into their last matchup having not scored more than two runs for five straight, but Steelton-Highspire let them put that streak behind them. The Spartans put the hurt on the Steamrollers with a sharp 16-4 victory on Thursday. The Spartans not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since April 29, 2024.
Ryan Wakeley was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Parris Blackston was a standout: he scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Bradley Pugliese, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Milton Hershey always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .612. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, East Pennsboro strolled into their game on Tuesday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They never let Steelton-Highspire get on the board and left with a 19-0 win. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by seven runs or more this season.
Anson Towsey was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Lucas Martz was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while going 1-for-1.
East Pennsboro pushed their record up to 8-0 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.2 runs over those games. As for Milton Hershey, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-5.
Milton Hershey couldn't quite get it done against East Pennsboro in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 5-0. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
