Baseball Preview: Yerington Lions vs. Incline Highlanders
Yerington is 10-0 against Incline since May of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Yerington Lions will head out on the road to take on the Incline Highlanders at 4:00 p.m. Yerington is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.
After a string of six wins, Yerington's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell just short of Oasis Academy by a score of 4-3.
Valor Angle was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Angle has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Angle was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Angle wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Nolan Landa, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Even though they lost, Yerington didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with seven strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Oasis Academy only tossed three.
Meanwhile, Incline can now show off six landslide victories after their most recent contest last Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 17-6 margin over Battle Mountain. Incline had a rough season last year, but they look ready to turn that poor record around this year.
Like Yerington, Incline also got a great game from a two-way player: Colton Barraza. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Barraza was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Incline got a massive performance out of Tate Gitchell, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Tommy Williams, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
Yerington's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 10-4. As for Incline, they pushed their record up to 8-2 with that victory, which was their sixth straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Yerington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Incline struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Yerington came out on top in a nail-biter against Incline in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, sneaking past 12-11. The rematch might be a little tougher for Yerington since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
