Baseball Game Preview: Sanford Spartans vs. South Portland Red Riots

Sanford hasn't had much luck against South Portland recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Spartans will face off against the Red Riots at 4:30 p.m. Sanford is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.

Sanford will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Thursday, then bounced right back against Portland on Monday. The Spartans were the clear victors by a 12-1 margin over the Bulldogs. The Spartans have beaten the Bulldogs the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Bulldogs has come to flipping the script.

Zach Kassim looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).

Matthew Hebert

Hits (Career)

05/12/25 @ Portland	2
05/07/25 vs Bonny Eagle	1
05/03/25 @ Westbrook	1
04/29/25 vs Scarborough	1
05/16/24 vs Thornton Academy	1

On the hitting side, Matthew Hebert was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Drew Vessels also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, South Portland faced Marshwood in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Red Riots fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 2-1. The contest marked the Red Riots' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Sanford's win bumped their record up to 4-2. As for South Portland, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Sanford has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like South Portland struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Sanford couldn't quite finish off South Portland in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.