Shelbyville is 1-7 against Columbus East since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Shelbyville Golden Bears will take on the Columbus East Olympians at 8:00 p.m. Shelbyville is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Last Saturday, Shelbyville was able to grind out a solid victory over Southport, taking the game 8-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for Shelbyville.
Grantland Fitzgerald was incredible, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Brock Kuhn, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but Columbus East had to settle for a 6-4 loss against Southport on Monday.
Jackson Watkins was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Watkins has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. Watkins was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and a double.
In other pitching news, Columbus East got a good showing from James Rotert, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Rotert has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, Blake Borkhardt made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with a home run. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcus Wilkinson, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Shelbyville is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. As for Columbus East, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-17.
Shelbyville couldn't quite finish off Columbus East when the teams last played back in May of 2021 and fell 2-0. Thankfully for Shelbyville, Kaden Wise (who kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over six innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
