Baseball Preview: Basalt Longhorns vs. Berthoud Spartans
Basalt has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Berthoud Spartans at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Basalt is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Basalt came up short against Aspen and fell 9-6.
Gage Balderson was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Balderson was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Hayden Rowley was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Sebastian Oliver, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Berthoud waltzed into their game on Tuesday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Fury and snuck past 5-4. That's two games straight that Berthoud has won by just one run.
The team relied heavily on Jack McCrea, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Wyatt Barmes was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Basalt has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-16 record this season. As for Berthoud, they pushed their record up to 22-1 with that win, which was their 12th straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Basalt has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Berthoud struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
