The Pine Creek Eagles will square off against the Palmer Ridge Bears at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Pine Creek took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Liberty with a sharp 11-1 victory. Considering the Eagles have won five games by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Aiden Wilson made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Tristan Mullis, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs. Jake Holm was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Pine Creek always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Liberty only posted an OBP of .211.
Meanwhile, Palmer Ridge had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 13-12 win over Lutheran on Thursday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Bears' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Like Pine Creek, Palmer Ridge also got a great game from a two-way player: Luke Weaver. He tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Weaver was even better at the plate, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Jackson Streeter was excellent, going 3-for-5 with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Richert, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Pine Creek pushed their record up to 9-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Palmer Ridge, their victory was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 3-11.
Palmer Ridge's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pine Creek hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .336. It's a different story for Palmer Ridge, though, as they've only averaged .220. Will they be able to contain Pine Creek's hitters?
Everything went Pine Creek's way against Palmer Ridge in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as Pine Creek made off with an 11-2 win. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Bears have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
