There is more than meets the eye for the upcoming in-county rivalry game against the baseball teams from Pike County High School and Goshen High School.

True, this will be the second time in a week the teams have met but more than just bragging rights are on the line this time as both teams are looking for a confidence builder.

Both teams have struggled so far in the early season, with the only win between them coming during after PCHS beat GHS last weekend.

But doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

“I feel really good about our team,” Eagles’ head coach Ryan Ellison said.

“We have come a long way in the last couple of weeks. We have cut down on our errors, which really hurt us and have been right there in more of our games. “I am looking forward to the team continuing to improve,” he added.

Bulldog’s head coach Nathan Fordham had the same kind of attitude and talked about one aspect he is happy with so far is the team’s hitting and hopes it continues to be during the bragging rights game.

“We have been swinging the bat better than I expected,” he said. “There is always room for improvement, but I think we have a pretty solid lineup from one through nine – I feel pretty confident about our guys.”

Both coaches said they felt their teams should be well prepared for the game, having seen each other less than seven days go.

“I think it will definitely help – for both teams,” Ellison said. “We have seen their pitching and who is in their lineup as they have seen ours, so I think it will be an advantage for both teams.”

As far as what it would mean for the Eagles to get its first win of the season against a county rival, Ellison said it would be “huge”. “The kids know how important this game is, and a win like that would really help the boys get a lot of confidence for the rest of the season,” he said.

On the other side, Fordham said winning back-to-back games against Goshen would be something the team could build off of.

“I think we didn’t play well defensively against Ariton (on Tuesday night),” Fordham said. “Hopefully, that will be a wake up call for the team going into this game. “To be able to win two games against (Goshen) in a week’s time would be huge for us,” the coach added.

The Bulldogs will travel to play the Eagles today with the game starting at 4:30 p.m.