Baseball Game Preview: Henley Hornets vs. Newport Cubs

The Henley Hornets will challenge the Newport Cubs on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Henley sitting on 19 straight wins and Newport on six.

Henley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past La Grande 12-2. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 games by six runs or more this season.

Mark Carpenter was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Carson Siems, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Beau Pyle, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one run.

Henley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .464. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .344 or higher in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Newport never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They came out on top against Gladstone by a score of 4-0.

Henley's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-2-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Newport, their victory bumped their record up to 20-4.