Baseball Game Preview: Maple Grove Red Dragons vs. Westfield Wolverines

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Previous Games

05/14/24 - Away	15-7 W
05/06/24 - Home	4-3 W
05/18/23 - Home	7-3 W
05/17/23 - Away	15-1 W
05/17/22 - Away	11-0 W
+ 5 more games

Maple Grove is a perfect 10-0 against Westfield since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Red Dragons will host the Wolverines at 11:00 a.m. Maple Grove is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak dating back to last season.

Maple Grove came up short against Frewsburg on Thursday, falling 12-1. That's two games in a row now that the Red Dragons have lost by exactly 11 runs.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Westfield, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 13-3 margin over Pine Valley Central on Thursday. The Wolverines haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Danny Bratton and Tristan Phillips made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Bratton struck out 12 batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Phillips tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those 12 strikeouts gave Bratton a new career-high. At the plate, Bratton went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three stolen bases, and three RBI, while Phillips got on base in two of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and one run.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mason Baum, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Trent Ramm, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.

Westfield always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pine Valley Central only posted an OBP of .250.

The win got Westfield back to even at 1-1. As for Maple Grove, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-3.

Maple Grove took their victory against Westfield in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 15-7 score. Do the Red Dragons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wolverines turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.