Baseball Game Preview: Portage Mustangs vs. United Lions

For the second straight game, Portage will face off against United. The Mustangs will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Lions at 4:30 p.m. Portage is coming into the contest on a five-game losing streak.

Portage lost 12-4 to United on Monday.

For United's part, Brendan James made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. James has become a key player for United: the team is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-8 otherwise. James was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

In other batting news, Ryan Felix was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and two doubles. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Dmitri Worthington, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.

United kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. They are 3-1 when they post 11 or more hits.

The victory made it two in a row for United and bumps their season record up to 6-8. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.5 runs over those games. As for Portage, their loss dropped their record down to 3-11.