Baseball Recap: Stroud Drops Highest Score of Season Against Pawnee

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Stroud). They were the clear victor by a 17-5 margin over the Pawnee Black Bears on Thursday. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Black Bears recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Cal Shields was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs but no hits. He is becoming a predictor of Stroud's success: when he allows at most two hits the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Shields was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing Three bases. while going 3-for-4. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 1.2 stolen bases per game.

In other batting news, Jessen Leathers was a standout: he scored four runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Stroud is undefeated when Leathers posts two or more runs, but 1-2 otherwise. Stryker Bray was another key player, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.

Stroud always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pawnee only posted an OBP of .360.

Stroud's record now sits at 4-2. As for Pawnee, they are on a six-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-4.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Stroud will square off against Warner at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Stroud's pitching crew has only allowed 3.3 runs per game this season, so Warner's hitters will have their work cut out for them. Pawnee will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Tonkawa at 5:00 p.m. on March 24th.