Baseball Preview: Monticello Buckaroo vs. Dove Creek Bulldogs
Monticello and Dove Creek are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2016, but likely not for long. The Monticello Buckaroo will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against the Dove Creek Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m.
The matchup between Monticello and North Sevier on Tuesday hardly resembled the 1-0 effort from their previous meeting. Monticello fell victim to a tough 19-5 defeat at the hands of North Sevier.
Arturo Guitierrez was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases.
Meanwhile, Dove Creek came tearing into Saturday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.7 runs) and they left with even more momentum. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Cardinals a 16-0 shutout. Considering Dove Creek has won four games by more than six runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Aiden Chadd made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Chadd was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Jonathan Purkat was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last five games he's played. Taber Dejane was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Monticello dropped their record down to 1-6 with that loss, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Dove Creek, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Monticello has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Dove Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Monticello might still be hurting after the 15-2 defeat they got from Dove Creek in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Monticello, Cole Taber (who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
