Centralia is 0-6 against Highland since May of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Centralia Orphans have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Highland Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. Highland took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Centralia, who comes in off a win.
Centralia will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Salem, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Centralia skirted past Salem 6-4.
The team relied heavily on Cruz Harlan, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Michael Organ, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Highland had to settle for a 5-4 loss against O'Fallon on Wednesday.
Highland also got a good showing from Alex Howard, who pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Howard has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Highland saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Trey Koishor, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Centralia's win bumped their record up to 15-13. As for Highland, they dropped their record down to 25-5-1 with that defeat, which was their third straight at home.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Centralia has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Highland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Centralia suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Highland in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. Will Centralia 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
