Baseball Preview: Grand Junction Tigers vs. Rocky Mountain Lobos
Grand Junction has played every game this season on their home field, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will challenge the Rocky Mountain Lobos at 11:00 a.m. Grand Junction is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
Last Wednesday, Grand Junction had just enough and edged Palisade out 5-4.
Sean Witt was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Titus Forsyth, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain put the finishing touches on their third blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Douglas County as Rocky Mountain made off with an 11-2 victory. Rocky Mountain's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Cole Honick looked comfortable as he pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk).
At the plate, Ross Frank and Wrigley Cox did most of the damage at the plate: Frank scored three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Cox scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Judah Westdorp was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-1.
Grand Junction pushed their record up to 6-3 with that win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs per game. As for Rocky Mountain, they now have a winning record of 3-2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Grand Junction has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Rocky Mountain struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Grand Junction came up short against Rocky Mountain in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, falling 11-6. Can Grand Junction avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
