Baseball Game Preview: Mahanoy Area Golden Bears vs. Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils

Mahanoy Area is 1-9 against Shenandoah Valley since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Golden Bears will face off against the Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m.

Mahanoy Area is headed into Tuesday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their sixth straight game on Monday. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost an 8-6 heartbreaker at the hands of Panther Valley. That's two games in a row now that the Golden Bears have lost by exactly two runs.

Mike Oblas made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin De La Rosa, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one triple.

Meanwhile, Shenandoah Valley posted their closest win since March 14th on Friday. They skirted past Mahanoy Area 6-4. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Golden Bears recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Brayden Maksimik was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Landon Monaghan, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Mahanoy Area's loss dropped their record down to 2-13. As for Shenandoah Valley, their record now sits at 11-5.

Mahanoy Area couldn't quite finish off Shenandoah Valley when the teams last played on Friday and fell 6-4. Can the Golden Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.