Baseball Game Preview: St. Paul Knights vs. Hopedale Blue Raiders

The St. Paul Knights will head out on the road to face off against the Hopedale Blue Raiders at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopedale took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on St. Paul, who comes in off a win.

St. Paul took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over Burncoat. The game marked the Knights' most dominant victory of the season.

Colin Kreuz made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season.

In other batting news, Curtis Patrick was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Those RBI were his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Beckett Bailey, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

St. Paul always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .594. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Hopedale didn't have quite enough to beat Blackstone Valley RVT on Tuesday and fell 5-4. The Blue Raiders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Hopedale's defeat dropped their record down to 5-4. As for St. Paul, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-8.