Baseball Preview: North Creek Jaguars vs. Newport - Bellevue Knights
The North Creek Jaguars will head out on the road to square off against the Newport - Bellevue Knights at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games North Creek has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
North Creek is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Eastlake, who was ranked sixth in their home state at the time (North Creek was ranked 17th). North Creek had just enough and edged Eastlake out 4-3. That's two games straight that North Creek has won by just one run.
Jack Cochran tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits.
At the plate, Cayden Christopherson was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Moyer, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Newport - Bellevue didn't have quite enough to beat Issaquah on Monday and fell 2-1. Newport - Bellevue has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Jack Freytag spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Jace Rainey made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
North Creek has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. As for Newport - Bellevue, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 11-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Newport - Bellevue struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
North Creek was able to grind out a solid win over Newport - Bellevue in their previous matchup back in March, winning 3-0. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Freytag, who struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will North Creek still be able to contain Freytag? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
