Baseball Game Preview: East Grand Rapids Pioneers vs. Cedar Springs Red Hawks

The East Grand Rapids Pioneers will head out to square off against the Cedar Springs Red Hawks at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (East Grand Rapids has three straight victories, Cedar Springs has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

East Grand Rapids' pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 17-0 margin over Ottawa Hills. Considering the Pioneers have won six matchups by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Callan Royce looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Noah Reed was a standout: he went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Tripp DeBoer also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.

East Grand Rapids always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .500 or higher in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Cedar Springs came up short against Lowell on Wednesday and fell 8-4.

Cedar Springs saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Mullins, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

East Grand Rapids' record is now 8-1-1. As for Cedar Springs, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.

Cedar Springs' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: East Grand Rapids hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .387. It's a different story for Cedar Springs, though, as they've only averaged .253. Will they be able to contain East Grand Rapids' hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.