Baseball Game Preview: Blackman Blaze vs. Cleveland Blue Raiders

For the second straight game, Blackman will face off against Cleveland. The Blaze will host the Blue Raiders at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. The last four games Blackman has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Blackman is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Cleveland just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of the Blue Raiders by a score of 2-1.

For Cleveland's part, Tyler Gardner spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on five hits. Gardner has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sam Coleman, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and one run. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April.

Cleveland is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 30-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for Blackman, their loss dropped their record down to 24-10.