Baseball Game Preview: Emerald Ridge Jaguars vs. Lake Stevens Vikings

The Emerald Ridge Jaguars will head out to square off against the Lake Stevens Vikings at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Emerald Ridge is coming into the game hot, having won their last seven games.

Emerald Ridge's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Bethel 9-0.

Lake Stevens came out on top against Cascade on Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run first inning. The Vikings put the hurt on the Bruins with a sharp 12-1 win. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.

Manny McLaurin looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over four innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time he's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, Blake Moser was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs and one stolen base. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Josh Bouley, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Emerald Ridge's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-6. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Lake Stevens, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.