Baseball Game Preview: Vanden Vikings vs. Pioneer Patriots

The Vanden Vikings are taking a road trip to take on the Pioneer Patriots at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pioneer took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Vanden, who comes in off a win.

Having struggled with four losses in a row, Vanden turned things around against River City on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Raiders, sneaking past 5-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Vikings have posted since May 2, 2024.

Ryan Cahalan

Batters Struck Out

03/13/25 vs River City	7
03/08/25 @ Del Oro	2
02/26/25 vs Roseville	5
02/24/25 @ Pleasant Grove	1
05/07/24 vs Pioneer	3
+ 4 more games

Ryan Cahalan spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on five hits and racked up seven Ks. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024.

On the hitting side, Vanden let Gabriel Cruz and Kekoa Grinton run wild. Cruz scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Grinton went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI. Grinton has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Daevion Lindsay also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Vanden was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as River City only posted a batting average of .208.

Meanwhile, Pioneer might've scored the first runs on Thursday, but it was Rodriguez who claimed the real prize. Pioneer took a 6-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of Rodriguez. Having soared to a lofty 13 runs in the game before, the Patriots couldn't push the score so high this time.

Pioneer's defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Vanden, their win bumped their record up to 3-6.

Vanden came up short against Pioneer in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, falling 5-1. Can Vanden avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.