Baseball Game Preview: Priest River Spartans vs. Newport Grizzlies

Priest River hasn't had much luck against Newport recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Spartans will square off against the Grizzlies at 2:00 p.m. Priest River has given up an average of 11.2 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Priest River is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Tuesday. They came up short against Timberlake, falling 17-2. That's two games in a row now that the Spartans have lost by exactly 15 runs.

Broden Collins

Stolen Base

03/14/25 vs St. Maries	3
04/08/25 vs Timberlake	2
03/27/25 @ St. Maries	2
04/05/25 @ Riverside	1
03/27/25 @ St. Maries	1

Broden Collins made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Priest River is 2-1 when Collins posts two or more stolen bases, but 0-6 otherwise.

Meanwhile, Newport entered their tilt with Kettle Falls on Thursday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They never let the Bulldogs get on the board and left with a 4-0 victory. While the Grizzlies didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-12), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

The result came thanks to Ryder Riddles's shutout, as he gave up just a hit and racked up eight Ks.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Hank Kirkwood, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

Newport pushed their record up to 6-2 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Priest River, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.

Priest River suffered a grim 16-1 defeat to Newport when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.