Baseball Game Preview: Priest River Spartans vs. Grangeville Bulldogs

Priest River is 0-3 against Grangeville since March of 2024 but things could change on Friday. The Spartans will welcome the Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m. The last three games Priest River has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Priest River will bounce into Friday's match after beating Kellogg, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Spartans skirted past the Wildcats 5-3. Surprisingly, this marked the third straight game that the away team has come away the victor.

Colton Kuprienko

Runs (Career)

04/14/25 @ Kellogg	2
04/14/25 @ Kellogg	1
04/03/25 vs Kellogg	1
03/27/25 @ St. Maries	1
03/14/25 vs St. Maries	1

The team relied heavily on Colton Kuprienko, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those two runs gave him a new career-high.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 14 runs the game before, Grangeville was a bit more limited in their contest on Tuesday. They lost 11-1 to Orofino. The Bulldogs have struggled against the Maniacs recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive lost meeting.

Priest River's win bumped their record up to 4-8. As for Grangeville, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 9-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Priest River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Grangeville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Priest River might still be hurting after the 34-1 loss they got from Grangeville in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Spartans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.