The Franklin Knights will challenge the Sharon Tigers at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many runs in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.
Franklin came into their game on Monday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against Titusville, falling 8-1. The Knights haven't had much luck with the Rockets recently, as the team has come up short the last nine times they've met.
Franklin saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Evan Turner, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one double.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Sharon, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 victory over Oil City on Monday. Those two runs were actually the fewest the Tigers have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Ethan Engelmore spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up seven Ks. He is becoming a predictor of Sharon's success: when he allows at most three earned runs the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't).
Sharon's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Franklin, they now have a losing record of 6-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Franklin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Sharon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Franklin might still be hurting after the 12-1 defeat they got from Sharon in their previous meeting on April 7th. Will the Knights have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
