Baseball Preview: Eagle River Wolves vs. Bettye Davis East Anchorage Thunderbirds
The Eagle River Wolves will head out on the road to take on the Bettye Davis East Anchorage Thunderbirds at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Eagle River is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Eagle River is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Dimond, who was ranked 13th in their home state at the time (Eagle River was ranked third). Eagle River blew past Dimond 9-0. Considering Eagle River has won four contests by more than eight runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Gunner Mountcastle made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. Mountcastle has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Mountcastle was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Tommy Molloy and Liam Lierman did most of the damage at the plate: Molloy scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3, while Lierman scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Kamden Kurtz was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Meanwhile, Saturday just wasn't the day for Bettye Davis East Anchorage's offense. They lost 17-0 to Chugiak on Saturday. The loss continues a trend for Bettye Davis East Anchorage in their matchups with Chugiak: they've now lost eight in a row.
Bettye Davis East Anchorage saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Andrew Malone, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases.
Eagle River pushed their record up to 7-3 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Bettye Davis East Anchorage, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.
Bettye Davis East Anchorage's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Eagle River has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .436. It's a different story for Bettye Davis East Anchorage, though, as they've only averaged .310. Will they be able to contain Eagle River's hitters?
Eagle River took their victory against Bettye Davis East Anchorage when the teams last played back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 8-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eagle River 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
