The Firelands Falcons will head out to face off against the Midview Middies at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Midview took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Firelands, who comes in off a win.
Firelands hadn't beaten Black River on the road since April 16, 2019 but that history sure didn't bother them on Tuesday. The Falcons put the hurt on the Pirates with a sharp 20-9 win. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by seven runs or more this season.
Firelands let Daniel Kothe and Maxx Bray run wild. Kothe got on base in five of his six plate appearances with four stolen bases, four runs, and one triple, while Bray got on base in five of his six plate appearances with five RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those five RBI gave Bray a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Radanovich, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs.
Firelands always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .596. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .500 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Midview didn't have quite enough to beat Olmsted Falls on Tuesday and fell 3-2. The Middies have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Noah Munshower was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Midview saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Damien Presser, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run and one RBI. That hit was Presser's first of the season.
Firelands has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Midview, their loss dropped their record down to 6-13.
Midview's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Firelands has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .469. It's a different story for Midview, though, as they've only averaged .335. Will they be able to contain Firelands' hitters?
Firelands couldn't quite get it done against Midview in their previous meeting back in April of 2016 as they fell 8-5. Can the Falcons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
