Baseball Game Preview: Capital Golden Eagles vs. Eagle Mustangs

The Capital Golden Eagles will challenge the Eagle Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are out to turn their luck around after having lost tight contests in their previous games.

Capital is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Idaho's top teams: Centennial, who was ranked 13th at the time (Capital was ranked 18th). The Golden Eagles wound up with the same score they had in their last game (3-1), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss they have suffered since April 26, 2024.

Capital saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dylan Hawk, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double and one RBI. That double marked the first that Hawk hit this season.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 15 runs the game before, Eagle was a bit more limited in their game on Tuesday. They fell just short of Borah by a score of 3-1. The matchup marked the Mustangs' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Stephen Egan was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.

Eagle's defeat was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 7-6. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the losses came by an average of only 1.33 runs. As for Capital, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 9-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Capital has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Eagle struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Capital might still be hurting after the 13-0 loss they got from Eagle in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Golden Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.