Baseball Preview: Mid Valley Spartans vs. Old Forge Blue Devils
The Mid Valley Spartans will head out on the road to take on the Old Forge Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Mid Valley is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Last Saturday, it was a hard-fought game, but Mid Valley had to settle for a 6-5 defeat against Honesdale.
Mid Valley saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nick Mills, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a double. Another player making a difference was Chase Eshelman, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Mid Valley didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Old Forge scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Monday. They put the hurt on Western Wayne with a sharp 10-0 win. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded Old Forge with their most commanding win of the season.
Joseph Granko was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Granko has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Granko was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Old Forge let Jake Iacavazzi and Cam Krushnowski loose on the outfield. Iacavazzi went 2-for-3 with a triple, a stolen base, and two RBI, while Krushnowski scored three runs and stole two bases. The team also got some help courtesy of TJ DiMattia, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with a double and an RBI.
Mid Valley's loss dropped their record down to 6-5. As for Old Forge, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mid Valley has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Old Forge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mid Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Old Forge in their previous meeting on April 4th, sneaking past 2-1. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was DiMattia, who struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk). Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Mid Valley still be able to contain DiMattia? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
