Baseball Game Preview: Laurel Spartans vs. Parkdale Panthers

The Laurel Spartans will head out to take on the Parkdale Panthers on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Laurel has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Parkdale will arrive with three straight wins.

Monday just wasn't the day for Laurel's offense. They fell 5-0 to Bowie on Monday.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Parkdale took on Flowers on Wednesday. The Panthers came out on top against the Jaguars by a score of 13-8.

Edwin Herrera and Chris Saavedra were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Herrera tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Saavedra pitched three innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Herrera has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Herrera went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Saavedra went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Herrera has become a key player for Parkdale: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-3 otherwise.

In other batting news, Parkdale got a massive performance out of James Edmond, who went 1-for-3 with six stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. With that strong performance, Edmond is now averaging an impressive 1.4 stolen bases per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Jovanny Vazquez, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.

Parkdale kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matchups.

Parkdale's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.7 runs over those games. As for Laurel, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.