Baseball Preview: North Fork Miners vs. Moffat County Bulldogs
The North Fork Miners are on the road again on Thursday to play the Moffat County Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m. North Fork is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.2 runs per game this season.
North Fork never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Rangely on Monday. They walked away with a 12-8 win over the Panthers. Considering North Fork's hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Kaleb Crawford and Hayden Moreno made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Crawford struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Moreno struck out seven batters over 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits (and only one walk). At the plate, Crawford went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double, while Moreno scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-4. Moreno is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played.
In other batting news, North Fork let Payson Pene and Mario Gama loose on the outfield. Pene scored four runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-4, while Gama scored three runs while going 4-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Moreno, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Moffat County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They fell just short of Steamboat Springs by a score of 11-9.
Zaylan Kirby and Caleb Squires did some serious damage despite the final result: Kirby went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI, while Squires scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
North Fork's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-4. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs per game. As for Moffat County, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Moffat County's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: North Fork has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .445. It's a different story for Moffat County, though, as they've only averaged .311. Will they be able to contain North Fork's hitters?
North Fork suffered a grim 14-4 defeat to Moffat County in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can North Fork avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
