Baseball Game Preview: Middleton Tigers vs. Freedom Patriots

Middleton hasn't had much luck against Freedom recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Middleton Tigers are taking a road trip to challenge the Freedom Patriots at 7:00 p.m. Middleton has given up an average of 14.9 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.

Middleton is headed into Tuesday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their seventh straight game on Saturday. They came up short against Leto, falling 11-1. That's two games in a row now that the Tigers have lost by exactly ten runs.

Meanwhile, Freedom had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Brandon 6-4.

Freedom got a great performance from Dylan Hand as he struck out eight batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off nine hits (and only one walk). Those hits were Hand's first of the season.

On the hitting side, Parker Crafton was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season. Liam Harris was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

Freedom hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in four consecutive matchups.

Middleton's loss dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Freedom, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.

Middleton might still be hurting after the 17-1 defeat they got from Freedom when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Middleton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.