Baseball Game Preview: Spooner Rails vs. Ashland Oredockers

The Spooner Rails will square off against the Ashland Oredockers at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Spooner lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Cameron, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's contest. The Rails' pitcher stepped up to hand the Comets an 11-0 shutout on Thursday. Winning may never get old, but the Rails sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

Evan Potaczek was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up a single walk any time he's pitched this season. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those RBI marked the first that he has brought in this season.

In other batting news, Spooner let Mason Sobralski and Jarrett Meier run wild. Sobralski went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and three runs, while Meier went 2-for-3 with four RBI and one stolen base. Sobralski is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Shamari Fahie was another key player, earning two RBI and two runs.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ashland). They were the clear victors by a 19-7 margin over Rice Lake on Friday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Oredockers with their most commanding win of the season.

The victory made it two in a row for Ashland and bumps their season record up to 3-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.5 runs over those games. As for Spooner, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.

Spooner came out on top in a nail-biter against Ashland in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Rails repeat their success, or do the Oredockers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.