Baseball Recap: Sparks Comes Up Short

Sparks had lost 15 straight on the road dating back to last season, but on Saturday they dropped their record down to 1-20 to make it 16. They came up short against the North Valleys Panthers, falling 15-0. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Panthers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 10-1 back in March.

As for North Valleys, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. They might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matchups by six runs or more this season.

For North Valleys' part, Dolan Tucker was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Those ten strikeouts gave Tucker a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

In other batting news, Caden Birch and Zach Clarke did most of the damage at the plate: Birch went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Clarke went 3-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those five RBI gave Clarke a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brooks Anderline, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: North Valleys beat Sparks by a score of 20-0 later that day.