The Springboro Panthers will take on the Fairmont Firebirds at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Springboro will be strutting in after a win while Fairmont will be coming in after a defeat.
Springboro's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Arcanum 6-0. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by six runs or more this season.
Bodie Abbott looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
At the plate, Springboro saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Davis, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Ben Veletean was another, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Fairmont fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Archbishop Moeller on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Fighting Crusaders by a score of 6-5. The Firebirds just can't catch a break and have now endured four losses in a row.
Brayden Vance was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Tyler Mastro was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Springboro is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Fairmont, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-13.
Fairmont's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Springboro hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .325. It's a different story for Fairmont, though, as they've only averaged .243. Will they be able to contain Springboro's hitters?
Springboro couldn't quite get it done against Fairmont when the teams last played back in April as they fell 6-3. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
