Baseball Game Preview: Montpelier Locomotives vs. St. John's Bluejays

The Montpelier Locomotives will head out on the road to square off against the St. John's Bluejays at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Montpelier will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Montpelier came out on top against Archbold on Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run sixth inning. The Locomotives put the hurt on the Blue Streaks with a sharp 11-1 win. The Locomotives might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by six runs or more this season.

Kenneth Smeltzer made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April.

In other batting news, Wesley Hartsock and Hayden Sharps did most of the damage at the plate: Hartsock went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI, while Sharps got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. What's more, Sharps posted two hits, the most he's had since back in April. Tyler Plourde was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.

St. John's couldn't beat Fort Recovery on Wednesday even though they stacked five runs on them in the fifth inning. The Bluejays lost 12-6 to the Indians. The Bluejays have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Montpelier's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-2. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for St. John's, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-8.

Montpelier took their victory against St. John's in their previous meeting back in May of 2021 by a conclusive 12-2 score. Do the Locomotives have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bluejays turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.