Baseball Preview: Tavares Bulldogs vs. Vanguard Knights
The Tavares Bulldogs will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against the Vanguard Knights at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Thursday, Tavares didn't have quite enough to beat Eustis and fell 3-2. Tavares has not had much luck with Eustis recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Tavares got a good showing from Kyle Dunn, who pitched 3.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits (he also only allowed one walk). Dunn has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Tavares saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jeruel Rivera-Torres, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Vanguard won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune on Friday. Their tough 14-3 defeat to Dunnellon might stick with them for a while.
Tavares' loss dropped their record down to 8-10. As for Vanguard, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Tavares has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Vanguard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Tavares took their victory against Vanguard when the teams last played back in March of 2021 by a conclusive 7-0. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Vanguard's Adam Oxendine, who pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be that much easier for Tavares to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
