The Botkins Trojans will challenge the Ridgemont Golden Gophers at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Russia hit Botkins with a four-run second inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Trojans might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 11-1 to the Raiders, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior. The Trojans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Botkins saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adrien Krouskop, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Ridgemont and Ada meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Golden Gophers put the hurt on the Bulldogs with a sharp 8-2 win. The Golden Gophers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by six runs or more this season.
Xavier Stuck was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Jon Cromer was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Maddox Thompson, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Botkins' defeat dropped their record down to 3-5. As for Ridgemont, their victory bumped their record up to 4-6.
Botkins skirted past Ridgemont 2-1 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Will the Trojans repeat their success, or do the Golden Gophers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
