The Pikeville Panthers will square off against the Raceland Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Pikeville sitting on five straight wins and Raceland on four.
It was a proper cat-fight when Pikeville challenged Shelby Valley on Tuesday. The Panthers came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 7-2.
Meanwhile, Raceland sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 11-9 victory over Russell on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Rams have won by exactly two runs.
Landon Bloss made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted four strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Michael Pennington, who scored four runs while going 2-for-3. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kadin Shore, who scored a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Raceland's win bumped their record up to 12-4. As for Pikeville, the victory got them back to even at 8-8.
Friday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Pikeville hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .322. However, it's not like Raceland struggles in that department as they've averaged .315. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Pikeville beat Raceland 7-4 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
