Baseball Preview: Pittsburg Pirates vs. Liberty Lions
Pittsburg and Liberty are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2021, but likely not for long. The Pittsburg Pirates will head out on the road to take on the Liberty Lions at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pittsburg is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.
Pittsburg is is headed into Tuesday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Thursday. They fell just short of Heritage by a score of 4-3.
Aaron Del Real was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Niko Fuentes, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Liberty fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Heritage last Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 10-5 to the Patriots. Liberty's defeat signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.
Liberty also got a good showing from Blaine Welte, who didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Welte has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Liberty saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was David Roberts, who went 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Cruz Van Slyke, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Pittsburg's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 14-6. As for Liberty, their record now sits at 10-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pittsburg has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Liberty struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Pittsburg came out on top in a nail-biter against Liberty in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pittsburg since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
