Baseball Preview: Gooding Senators vs. Malad Dragons
The Gooding Senators will take on the Malad Dragons at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Gooding had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Cardinals with a sharp 13-3 win. The result was nothing new for Gooding, who have now won four matches by nine runs or more so far this season.
Eli Esterbrook and Braden Martin made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Esterbrook didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Martin tossed two innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits (he also only allowed one walk). Esterbrook has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Esterbrook scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3, while Martin scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zander Gonzales, who scored four runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Wick Church was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
Meanwhile, Malad scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They never let Bear Lake onto the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Malad's hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Brady Showell spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just zero earned runs on one hit and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Easton Green was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Rydon Montgomery, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Gooding has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for Malad, their win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-4.
Malad's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Gooding hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .349. It's a different story for Malad, though, as they've only averaged .207. Will they be able to contain Gooding's hitters?
Gooding couldn't quite finish off Malad in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 and fell 2-0. Can Gooding avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
