Baseball Preview: Elida Tigers vs. Gateway Christian Warriors
Elida is 0-10 against Gateway Christian since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Elida Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the Gateway Christian Warriors at 3:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Elida entered their tilt with Dora with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 12-9 victory over the Coyotes in Friday's second game. Elida's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
The team relied heavily on Hardy Fraze, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Bradley Burris, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Gateway Christian can now show off four landslide victories after their most recent game in Friday's second game. They never let Floyd onto the board and left with a 29-0 win. While fans of Gateway Christian might be used to big wins, the 29-run margin marked the team's biggest one yet.
Cohen Bolin made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching an inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks). Bolin was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing six bases while going 2-for-5. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Grady Munson, who got on base in all six of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, six runs, and six RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayford Fulkerson, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with three stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs.
Elida now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Gateway Christian, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Elida has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gateway Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Elida might still be hurting after the 19-1 defeat they got from Gateway Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Elida, Jace Worley (who kept things locked down with no earned run or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
