Baseball Preview: Nestucca Bobcats vs. Portland Christian Royals
The Nestucca Bobcats will be playing at home against the Portland Christian Royals at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Nestucca's favor is that they have posted big run totals in their last six matches.
If Nestucca beats Portland Christian with 14 runs on Tuesday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Nestucca came out on top against Gaston by a score of 14-10 last Friday.
Kenneth Blackburn Iii and Nolen Hurliman made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Blackburn Iii pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Hurliman tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Blackburn Iii has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. At bat, Blackburn Iii scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Hurliman scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaxon Jensen, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Brady Hurliman was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Portland Christian's offense. They lost 6-0 to Gaston on Friday. Portland Christian has struggled against Gaston recently, as their contest on Friday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Portland Christian saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Humphrey, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
Nestucca's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-5. As for Portland Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-11-1.
Nestucca took their win against Portland Christian in their previous matchup back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 14-4. Will Nestucca repeat their success, or does Portland Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
