Baseball Game Preview: Spring Creek Spartans vs. Virgin Valley Bulldogs

The Spring Creek Spartans are taking a road trip to take on the Virgin Valley Bulldogs at 1:45 p.m. on Friday. Spring Creek has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight defeats, while Virgin Valley will come in with three straight victories.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Spring Creek and Elko meet (two straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Saturday. The Spartans took a 14-10 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Indians. That's two games in a row now that the Spartans have lost by exactly four runs.

Meanwhile, while Virgin Valley put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Canyon Springs. The Bulldogs blew past the Pioneers 16-0. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by six runs or more this season.

Parker Litzenberger made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.

In other batting news, Virgin Valley got a massive performance out of Mason Montoya, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI, two runs, and one triple. Montoya has become a key player for the Bulldogs: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 5-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Koby Perry, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.

Virgin Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .759. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Virgin Valley's record is now 10-7. As for Spring Creek, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 10-7.

Spring Creek might still be hurting after the 10-1 defeat they got from Virgin Valley in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.