Baseball Preview: St. Johns Redskins vs. Round Valley Elks
St. Johns and Round Valley are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The St. Johns Redskins will be playing in front of their home fans against the Round Valley Elks at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: St. Johns has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Round Valley will arrive with three straight victories.
Last Tuesday, St. Johns came up short against Alchesay and fell 11-8.
Brennon Leslie put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over 7.1 innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Leslie was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, a triple, and two RBI.
Leslie wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was T Platt, who scored a run while going 3-for-6.
Even though they lost, St. Johns didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with ten strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Alchesay only tossed three.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Round Valley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They walked away with an 11-7 win over Phoenix Christian. Round Valley's victory was all the more impressive since Phoenix Christian was averaging only 2.62 runs allowed on the season.
Like St. Johns, Round Valley also got a great game from a two-way player: Ryker Marble. On the mound, he tossed 3.1 innings while giving up no earned run or hits. Marble was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and an RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one triple the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jeffery Cochran, who went 4-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Brenton Walker, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-5.
St. Johns' defeat dropped their record down to 13-9. As for Round Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-7 record this season.
Both the pair just can't seem to miss. St. Johns has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Round Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.4. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
St. Johns skirted past Round Valley 4-3 in their previous meeting back in February. Will St. Johns repeat their success, or does Round Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
