Preview: Grand Junction Tigers vs. Eagle Valley Devils
The Grand Junction Tigers have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Eagle Valley Devils at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Grand Junction scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Friday. They blew past Battle Mountain 14-2. With that win, Grand Junction brought their scoring average up to 7 runs per game.
Kody Knott looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned run off three hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
On the hitting side, Zyler Fazzi was incredible, going 2-for-2 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Brett Woytek was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Eagle Valley waltzed into their match on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 9-6 victory over the Sailors. That's two games straight that Eagle Valley has won by exactly three runs.
Elias Pena was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 11 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up six earned runs off six hits. Pena was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
In other batting news, Jacob Loupe was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Anthony Ehlert, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Grand Junction now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Eagle Valley, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Grand Junction has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Eagle Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.2 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Grand Junction took their victory against Eagle Valley in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 14-4. Will Grand Junction repeat their success, or does Eagle Valley have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
