Baseball Game Preview: Timberlake Tigers vs. Kellogg Wildcats

The Timberlake Tigers will challenge the Kellogg Wildcats at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Timberlake has four straight victories, Kellogg has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Last Thursday, Timberlake made easy work of St. Maries and carried off a 17-5 win. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won five games by nine runs or more so far this season.

Zach Blansfield made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Ethan Pecor

Runs (Career)

04/10/25 vs St. Maries	4
04/10/25 vs St. Maries	2
03/14/25 @ Potlatch	2
03/21/24 @ Priest River	2
03/19/24 @ St. Maries	2

In other batting news, Ethan Pecor and Ryker Brennan did most of the damage at the plate: Pecor scored four runs and stole six bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Brennan scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those four runs gave Pecor a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Tanner Van Tassel, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.

Timberlake was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .391 or higher in four consecutive contests.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Kellogg and Priest River meet (two straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Monday. The Wildcats fell just short of the Spartans by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Wildcats have suffered since May 8, 2024.

Kellogg's defeat dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Timberlake, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.

Timberlake was able to grind out a solid win over Kellogg when the teams last played back in April of 2023, winning 9-5. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.