Baseball Preview: Kress Kangaroos vs. Valley Patriots
Kress is 10-0 against Valley since April of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Kress Kangaroos will be playing in front of their home fans against the Valley Patriots at 4:30 p.m. Kress is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.5 runs per game this season.
Kress never got on the board in their matchup two weeks ago, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Memphis last Friday. They put the hurt on the Cyclones with a sharp 21-2 win. Kress' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Drew Morphis was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and only one walk). Morphis has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Morphis was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Malachi Guzman was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Dillon Morphis, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with five RBI, three runs, and a double.
Meanwhile, sadly, Valley is still looking for their first win of the season after four matchups. They fell victim to a tough 14-3 loss at the hands of Nazareth on Monday.
Valley saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leo Cruz, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Kress is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-9 record this season. As for Valley, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Kress has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Kress' way against Valley when the teams last played back in March as Kress made off with a 9-3 victory. Does Kress have another victory up their sleeve, or will Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
