Baseball Game Preview: Hart Hawks vs. Maranatha Minutemen

The Hart Hawks will head out on the road to challenge the Maranatha Minutemen at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Neither Hart nor Maranatha posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.

On Saturday, Hart needed a bit of extra time to put away Valencia. They won by a run and slipped past the Vikings 2-1. The win continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Vikings: they've now won three in a row.

Hart got a great performance from Tristan Purfoy as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over eight innings pitched. Purfoy has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, Hart saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaiden Chathle, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one double. That double was Chathle's first of the season. Michael Hogen was another, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Maranatha fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Los Osos two weeks ago but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Grizzlies by a score of 3-2. The Minutemen have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Maranatha's loss dropped their record down to 0-3-1. As for Hart, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

Hart was able to grind out a solid victory over Maranatha when the teams last played back in February of 2023, winning 6-2. Will Hart repeat their success, or does Maranatha have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.