Baseball Game Preview: Blackman Blaze vs. Oakland Patriots

For the second straight game, Blackman will face off against Oakland. The Blaze will look to defend their home field on Wednesday against the Patriots at 6:00 p.m. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Blackman has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Oakland will arrive with six straight victories.

Blackman fell victim to Oakland and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Patriots by a score of 1-0. The matchup marked the first time this year in which the Blaze were not able to get on the board.

For Oakland's part, Blackman's batters probably weren't too happy with Patrick Freeman, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 15 Ks (he gave up two walks). Freeman also allowed no hits, which is notable because the Patriots are undefeated when he allows at most three hits, but 10-11-1 otherwise.

At the plate, Oakland saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braxton Greever, who went 1-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

Oakland's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-11-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Blackman, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-5.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Blackman has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakland struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.