Baseball Game Preview: Dakota Ridge Eagles vs. Standley Lake Gators

The Dakota Ridge Eagles will venture away from home to square off against the Standley Lake Gators at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Dakota Ridge is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 13-5 margin over D'Evelyn on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Eagles considering their two-run performance the game before.

Matt Larmore

Batters Struck Out

04/08/25 vs D'Evelyn	6
03/21/25 vs Galena	3
03/08/25 vs Denver North	4
05/11/24 vs Bear Creek	5
05/04/24 @ Ralston Valley	8

Matt Larmore was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out six batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, Jackson Barrett was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing four bases while going 2-for-4. Mitchell Lee was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

Dakota Ridge kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.

Standley Lake not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since May 8, 2024. They blew past George Washington 9-3.

Like Dakota Ridge, Standley Lake also got a great game from a two-way player: Chris Blanco. He struck out 16 batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Blanco is becoming a predictor of Standley Lake's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is 3-1 (and 2-4 when he doesn't). Blanco was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Henry Moore, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.

Dakota Ridge's record now sits at 2-8. As for Standley Lake, the win got them back to even at 5-5.