Baseball Game Preview: Jim Thorpe Olympians vs. Bangor Slaters

The Jim Thorpe Olympians will challenge the Bangor Slaters at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Monday, Jim Thorpe came up short against Palmerton and fell 8-4. The Olympians have struggled against the Blue Bombers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.

Jim Thorpe got a good showing from Tyler Hoherchak, who didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. What's more, Hoherchak gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had since April 2nd.

At the plate, Jim Thorpe saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cole Lazorick, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. Tanner MoDavis also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

The home team had come away the winner the last four times Bangor and Notre Dame-Green Pond had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Slaters had just enough and edged out the Crusaders 12-11.

Gino Merlo looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Bangor: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 5-7-1 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Bangor got a massive performance out of Dylan Keith, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Keith is becoming a predictor of the Slaters' success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is 3-1 (and 4-7-1 when he doesn't). Jaxson Kreider was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

Bangor's victory bumped their record up to 7-8-1. As for Jim Thorpe, their loss dropped their record down to 6-10.