Baseball Game Preview: Mount Tabor Spartans vs. R.J. Reynolds Demons

The Mount Tabor Spartans will face off against the R.J. Reynolds Demons at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mount Tabor is coming into the contest on a six-game losing streak.

Mount Tabor came up short against East Forsyth on Friday, falling 15-5.

David Thiel was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with four RBI. Another player making a difference was Will Koonin, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask R.J. Reynolds). They came out on top against Parkland on Friday by a score of 16-1 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). With that win, the Demons brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.

Jackson Gallimore was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He is becoming a predictor of R.J. Reynolds' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-8 when he doesn't). Gavin Searcy was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

R.J. Reynolds always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .643. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.

Mount Tabor's defeat dropped their record down to 2-10. As for R.J. Reynolds, their victory bumped their record up to 7-8.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Mount Tabor has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like R.J. Reynolds struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Everything went Mount Tabor's way against R.J. Reynolds in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Mount Tabor made off with a 9-3 win. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Demons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.