Purchasing new equipment has helped the Penn Hills baseball team raise its collective batting average. If the Indians want to build on that success and win games, they will have to string those hits together.
Penn Hills has only produced 23 runs in its first 11 games.
"We have quite a few guys hitting over .300,” Indians coach Rodney Stubbs said. "We haven’t hit well with runners on base.”
Penn Hills is 0-11 overall and 0-10 in section play. The Indians had a nonsection game with Woodland Hills scheduled for April 26, which was too late for this edition. Penn Hills will wrap up section play with a pair of games against Gateway.
The Gators also have struggled to a 1-11 record, including a 1-6 mark in section. Sophomore Logan Bollinger leads Penn Hills with a .370 batting average. Isaiah Mitchell is second on the team with a .353 average. Sophomore Joe Young also is hitting .333 in six appearances.
Stubbs doesn’t feel like Penn Hills’ record has reflected the results his team are capable of getting.
"Every single game, we’ve been in it,” Stubbs said. "There’s always an inning where we give up too many runs, and it gets away from us.”
Stubbs hopes his eight seniors will get an opportunity to go out with a few wins. Playing Woodland Hills and Gateway down the stretch will provide some opportunity for the Indians to take down a few rivals.
Stubbs, who is stepping down at the end of the season, would like to have a positive note to end his time as the program’s coach. He would like his seniors to say the same thing.
"One thing I can say about my boys is that although they aren’t having a good year, they have kept a positive attitude,” Stubbs said. "My seniors have been outstanding.”
Yeager hitting at Marietta
Penn Hills graduate Cole Yeager has continued to find ways to contribute to the lineup at Marietta College. Yeager has connected on six extra-base hits for the Pioneers, who are 17-15 this season, including a 9-5 record in Ohio Athletic Conference play.
Yeager is hitting .176 on the season and has driven in 14 runs in 23 stats.
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He is on pace to set several personal bests this season. He already has a career-high two triples and is on pace to get close to his RBI total of 23 from last season.
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