Baseball Game Preview: North Muskegon Norsemen vs. Oakridge Eagles

vs

Previous Games

05/15/24 - Home	11-3 W
05/04/24 - Home	3-2 W
04/18/24 - Away	7-4 W
04/18/24 - Away	9-6 W
05/19/23 - Home	5-4 W
+ 5 more games

North Muskegon has gone 9-1 against Oakridge recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Norsemen will square off against the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. North Muskegon will come into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.

Last Tuesday, North Muskegon beat Shelby 5-1.

Kylan Nielsen was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Jaxon Bean also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.

Meanwhile, Oakridge had just enough and edged out Fremont 7-6 on Wednesday. The victory continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Packers: they've now won seven in a row.

The team relied heavily on Evan Miller, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Zac Cribbins, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.

Oakridge hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fremont struck out eight times.

North Muskegon's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-0. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average this season. As for Oakridge, their record now sits at 3-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Muskegon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

North Muskegon took their win against Oakridge when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 11-3 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Norsemen since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.