Baseball Game Preview: Hartford Hurricanes vs. Bellows Falls Terriers

The Hartford Hurricanes will face off against the Bellows Falls Terriers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Hartford is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Vermont's top teams: Brattleboro, who was ranked eighth at the time (Hartford was ranked 17th). The Hurricanes took a 5-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bears on Monday. The Hurricanes have struggled against the Bears recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost meeting.

Hartford saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kyle Spaulding, who went 1-for-2 with one run.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Bellows Falls, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They won by a run and slipped past Woodstock 9-8. The win continues a trend for the Terriers in their matchups with the Wasps: they've now won six in a row.

Jaden Bazin and Steven Joslyn did most of the damage at the plate: Bazin got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Joslyn got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one stolen base and two RBI. Bazin is becoming a predictor of Bellows Falls' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 2-4 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Eli Allbee, who went 3-for-5 with two runs.

Bellows Falls always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .525. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Bellows Falls pushed their record up to 6-5 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.4 runs on average over those games. As for Hartford, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hartford has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bellows Falls struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.