Baseball Game Preview: Helix Highlanders vs. Granite Hills Eagles

For the second straight game, Helix will face off against Granite Hills. The Highlanders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Helix 3.1, Granite Hills 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Helix fell victim to Granite Hills and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They wound up with the same score they had in their last game (2-0), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time. Their loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.

For Granite Hills' part, the result came thanks to Luke Bailey's shutout, as he gave up just five hits and racked up seven Ks. Bailey has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Parker Vance, who went 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one double. That triple marked the first that he hit this season.

Granite Hills pushed their record up to 9-0-2 with the win, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.2 runs on average over those games. As for Helix, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-7.

Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Helix hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Granite Hills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.