Baseball Game Preview: Whetstone Braves vs. Mifflin Punchers

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Previous Games

04/24/24 - Away	16-4 W
04/09/24 - Home	10-0 W
05/15/23 - Home	11-0 W
05/03/23 - Home	24-1 W
04/25/23 - Away	19-0 W
+ 5 more games

Whetstone is a perfect 10-0 against Mifflin since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Braves will square off against the Punchers at 5:30 p.m. Whetstone's pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Mifflin's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Wednesday just wasn't the day for Whetstone's offense. They fell just short of Centennial by a score of 1-0 on Wednesday. That's two games in a row now that the Braves have lost by just one run.

Meanwhile, Mifflin made easy work of Northland on Wednesday and carried off a 14-8 victory. The result was nothing new for the Punchers, who have now won five contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Benny Villegas made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off only two hits. Villegas was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-5.

In other batting news, Adrian Hernandez was a standout: he scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Hernandez is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Wilfred Torres was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

Mifflin is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Whetstone, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 9-3.

Everything went Whetstone's way against Mifflin in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Whetstone made off with a 16-4 victory. Do the Braves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Punchers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.