The Gateway Olympians will take on the Adams City Eagles at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Gateway is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Gateway will bounce into Saturday's game after beating Skyview, who they had gone 0-7 against in their seven prior meetings. The Olympians narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Wolverines 4-3.
Gateway saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jakob Petersen, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one double. Another was Angel Ferrusquia, who earned one RBI, one run, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Adams City made easy work of Aurora Central on Thursday and carried off a 12-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won eight matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Mauro Acosta was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Nathan Gonzalez was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Ramirez, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
The win made it two in a row for Adams City and bumps their season record up to 13-6. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.5 runs over those games. As for Gateway, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season.
Gateway took their win against Adams City in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a conclusive 14-4 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Olympians since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
