Baseball Game Preview: Orono Riots vs. Bucksport Golden Bucks

The Orono Riots will challenge the Bucksport Golden Bucks at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

On Monday, Orono came up short against Foxcroft Academy and fell 9-4. The Riots have struggled against the Ponies recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.

Meanwhile, Bucksport fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Mount View on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mustangs. The Golden Bucks' loss signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.

Trent Goss was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He struck out 11 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He is becoming a predictor of Bucksport's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 2-1 (and 4-5 when he doesn't). Goss was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played.

Goss wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jason Terrill, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Bucksport's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for Orono, they now have a losing record of 5-6.

Orono took their win against Bucksport when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 11-2 score. Will the Riots repeat their success, or do the Golden Bucks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.