The Alma Panthers will head out on the road to take on the Ithaca Yellowjackets at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Alma's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Ithaca's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Tuesday just wasn't the day for Alma's offense. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Freeland on Tuesday. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Falcons: they've now lost four in a row.
Alma saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Owen Seeley, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base. Brighton Conn also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ithaca). They had just enough and edged out Carrollton 13-11. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Yellowjackets have posted against the Cavaliers since April 23, 2021.
Collin Thrush and Ryley White made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Thrush struck out six batters over 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). Meanwhile, White tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Ithaca is 5-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-7 otherwise. At bat, Thrush went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and one run, while White went 2-for-5 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave Thrush a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Koal Duflo, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one RBI. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Hull, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Ithaca always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .575. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Ithaca is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Alma, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-8-1.
Alma beat Ithaca 4-1 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
