The Estacada Rangers will head out on the road to face off against the Gladstone Gladiators at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
Gladstone's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Friday: Estacada hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. Everything went the Rangers' way against Molalla on Wednesday as they made off with a 16-0 win. The Rangers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 games by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Mckenzie Trujeque, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Izabella Allgeier was another key player, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double.
Estacada always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .593. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Molalla only posted an OBP of .250.
Meanwhile, Gladstone posted their closest victory since April 18th on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Madras 11-9.
Gladstone got a massive performance out of Gabriella Gunderson, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Another player making a difference was Caroline Ashby, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Gladstone now has a winning record of 13-12. As for Estacada, their record is now 20-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Estacada hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Gladstone struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Estacada was able to grind out a solid win over Gladstone in their previous meeting back in April, winning 10-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rangers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
