Baseball Preview: Sterling Tigers vs. Berthoud Spartans
The Sterling Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Berthoud Spartans at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Berthoud is hoping to do on Tuesday what Platte Valley couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to Sterling's winning streak, which now stands at four games. Everything went Sterling's way against Platte Valley as Sterling made off with a 12-2 victory.
Robbie Carrasco spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dayten DiOrio, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Felzien, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, a stolen base, and a double.
Meanwhile, Berthoud had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Huskies a 16-0 shutout.
Adam Hayes and Jack McCrea made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Hayes kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, McCrea tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At bat, Hayes scored a run while going 1-for-3, while McCrea scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Wyatt Barmes, who scored three runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Trent Jacobs, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Sterling pushed their record up to 12-3 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Berthoud, their record now sits at 17-1.
Tuesday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Sterling has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .499. However, it's not like Berthoud struggles in that department as they've averaged .489. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Sterling was able to grind out a solid victory over Berthoud in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sterling since the squad 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
