Baseball Game Preview: Sultan Turks vs. Cedarcrest Red Wolves

Sultan hasn't had much luck against Cedarcrest recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Turks will challenge the Red Wolves at 4:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Sultan was handed a ten-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Renton 4-3.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Cedarcrest, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They came out on top against Evergreen by a score of 9-4 on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Red Wolves in their matchups with the Wolverines: they've now won four in a row.

Reed Gilmore was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Gilmore was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, Murphy Vliem was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. Luke Thompson was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base.

Cedarcrest 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 eight hits in three consecutive contests.

Cedarcrest pushed their record up to 19-6 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Sultan, their record is now 7-14.

Sultan suffered a grim 12-5 defeat to Cedarcrest when the teams last played back in March. Can the Turks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.