Baseball Game Preview: Princeton Tigers vs. Chisago Lakes Area Wildcats

The Princeton Tigers will square off against the Chisago Lakes Area Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Princeton's pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Chisago Lakes Area's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Princeton proved they can win big on Monday (they won by nine) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Monticello, sneaking past 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Tigers have posted since May 2, 2024.

Meanwhile, Chisago Lakes Area was able to grind out a solid victory over North Branch on Tuesday, taking the game 5-2. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Vikings recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Zander Bleymeyer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits. Chisago Lakes Area is 4-1 when Bleymeyer allows three or fewer earned runs, but 0-7 otherwise.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Cole Stilp, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. He has become a key player for Chisago Lakes Area: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-7 otherwise. Jadon Greene was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.

Princeton is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Chisago Lakes Area, their win bumped their record up to 4-8.

Everything went Princeton's way against Chisago Lakes Area when the teams last played on Monday, as Princeton made off with a 9-0 victory. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.