Baseball Game Preview: Vintage Crushers vs. Casa Grande Gauchos

For the second straight game, Vintage will face off against Casa Grande. The Crushers will be playing at home against the Gauchos at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Vintage is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Casa Grande just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Gauchos by a score of 4-3.

For Casa Grande's part, Danny Mercado made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Mercado has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in 14 consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.

In other batting news, Jack Mountanos was excellent, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Logan Gard was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple and one run.

Casa Grande's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-6. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Vintage, their loss dropped their record down to 11-11.