Baseball Game Preview: Dixon Rams vs. Vanden Vikings

The Dixon Rams will challenge the Vanden Vikings at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Dixon has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Dixon played against Natomas on Monday and won via forfeit.

Vanden is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Sacramento a 22-0 shutout on Thursday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Vikings with their most commanding win of the season.

Anthony Nelson and Mariano Gonzalez were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Nelson pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Gonzalez struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He is becoming a predictor of Vanden's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is 2-1 (and 7-15 when he doesn't). At the plate, Nelson went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI, while Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Those two RBI gave Nelson a new career-high.

In other batting news, Hayden Book and Nolan Brewer did most of the damage at the plate: Book got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base, while Brewer got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs and three RBI. What's more, Book posted two hits, the most he's had since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Devin Drumheller, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.

Vanden kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive matches.

Dixon has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-16-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Vanden, their victory ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-16.