The Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Daniel Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Greer hit Blue Ridge with a four-run first inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Fighting Tigers fell 6-3 to the Yellow Jackets. The Fighting Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Blue Ridge saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hudson Poirier, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Daniel came tearing into Thursday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Blue Flame a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won ten matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Matthew Smith looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Liam Purcell and Quint Cumbie did most of the damage at the plate: Purcell went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Cumbie got on base in three of his four plate appearances with four stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Those four stolen bases gave Cumbie a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Julian Baldwin, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Daniel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pickens only posted an OBP of .211.
Daniel pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Blue Ridge, they now have a losing record of 8-9.
Blue Ridge skirted past Daniel 2-1 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Do the Fighting Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
