Baseball Game Preview: Merino Rams vs. Flatirons Academy Bison

The Merino Rams will head out on the road to face off against the Flatirons Academy Bison at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Merino's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Flatirons Academy's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Merino is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past Eads 12-3. Considering the Rams have won 14 contests by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Flatirons Academy had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They walked away with a 6-2 win over the Fightin' Bulldogs.

Caleb Doughty looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Micah Doughty was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Braxton Kelley, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.

Merino is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Flatirons Academy, their win bumped their record up to 16-5.