Baseball Preview: Preston Indians vs. Sugar-Salem Diggers
Preston has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Sugar-Salem Diggers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Preston will bounce into Friday's game after beating Canyon Ridge, who they hadn't topped in six consecutive meetings. Preston put the hurt on Canyon Ridge with a sharp 14-3 victory on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Preston considering their two-run performance the match before.
Preston let Conner Thomson and Klayton Hobbs loose on the outfield. Thomson scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Hobbs scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Zabe Mendoza, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Sugar-Salem waltzed into their contest on Friday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Timberwolves a 14-0 shutout. Give Sugar-Salem's pitching crew some credit: that's the team's third straight shutout.
Jackson Gardner was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Gardner has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Gardner was also big at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Ryker Jones looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, Sugar-Salem got a massive performance out of Will Chappell, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. Chappell has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Tommy Woodcock was another key contributor, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs.
Preston has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 6-7 record this season. As for Sugar-Salem, their win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-4.
Friday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Preston hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .367. However, it's not like Sugar-Salem struggles in that department as they've averaged .334. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Preston was able to grind out a solid victory over Sugar-Salem when the teams last played back in April of 2018, winning 5-1. Will Preston repeat their success, or does Sugar-Salem have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
