Baseball Preview: North Pole Patriots vs. Hutchison Hawks
North Pole is 9-1 against Hutchison since May of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The North Pole Patriots have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Hutchison Hawks at 5:30 p.m. North Pole is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.2 runs per game this season.
North Pole is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Monday, just like they did against Delta (and have done all season long). North Pole blew past Delta 9-3.
North Pole let Ryan Martinez and Pavel Kostov loose on the outfield. Martinez scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Kostov went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Martinez is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Landon Ritter, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Hutchison faced North Pole in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Hutchison lost 10-0 to North Pole. The match marked the first time this year in which Hutchison was not able to get on the board.
North Pole now has a winning record of 5-4-2. As for Hutchison, they dropped their record down to 2-9 with that loss, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. North Pole has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hutchison struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.4. The only question left is which team can snag more.
North Pole took their win against Hutchison in their previous meeting on Saturday by a conclusive 10-0. Will North Pole repeat their success, or does Hutchison have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
