The Marinette Marines will face off against the Sturgeon Bay Clippers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Marinette will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Freedom, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Marines came out on top against the Irish by a score of 7-2 on Thursday.
Justin Kruse spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Levi Hanson was excellent, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That stolen base marked the first that he has snagged this season. Chase MacGregor was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Sturgeon Bay was able to grind out a solid victory over Mishicot on Tuesday, taking the game 5-1. The Clippers haven't had any issues with the Indians recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Bryce Plzak and Ethan Kratcha were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Plzak pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Kratcha tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Plzak has become a key player for Sturgeon Bay: the team is 5-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 5-7 otherwise. At bat, Plzak went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Kratcha went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Patrick Haese, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs. Sturgeon Bay is 4-1 when Haese posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise.
Sturgeon Bay's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-8. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Marinette, their victory bumped their record up to 12-9.
Marinette might still be hurting after the 16-9 loss they got from Sturgeon Bay in their previous meeting back in April of 2019. Will the Marines have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
