Baseball Preview: Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs vs. Merino Rams
The Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Merino Rams. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Haxtun is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past Prairie 20-6.
The team relied heavily on Colin Cone, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-3. Kaiden Schelling was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Merino had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 1.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 10-4 margin over the Bulldogs.
Josiah Mackintosh made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits (and only one walk). Mackintosh was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Isaac Poe, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Tyler Miller, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Haxtun has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-4 record this season. As for Merino, their win bumped their record up to 13-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Haxtun has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Merino struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Haxtun was able to grind out a solid victory over Merino when the teams last played back in April, winning 9-6. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Merino's Zachery Mackintosh, who pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Haxtun still be able to contain Mackintosh? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
