Baseball Game Preview: Spruce Mountain Phoenix vs. Maranacook Black Bears

The Spruce Mountain Phoenix will head out on the road to square off against the Maranacook Black Bears at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Spruce Mountain will be strutting in after a victory while Maranacook will be coming in after a defeat.

Spruce Mountain took a 12-run loss the last time they faced off against Hall-Dale, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Phoenix narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Bulldogs 3-1.

Trent Lovewell spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up 17 Ks.

At the plate, Spruce Mountain's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Eli Moffett, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double. That double was Moffett's first of the season.

Madison hit Maranacook with a four-run second inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Black Bears fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 7-6.

Grant Walters was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Will Watson was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run.

Maranacook has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only one runs. As for Spruce Mountain, their win was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 2-6.

Spruce Mountain suffered a grim 10-4 defeat to Maranacook in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Phoenix avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.