Baseball Game Preview: Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains vs. Calvert Senecas

The Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains will challenge the Calvert Senecas at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Hopewell-Loudon sitting on six straight wins and Calvert on eight.

On Saturday, Hopewell-Loudon was able to grind out a solid victory over Seneca East, taking the game 5-1.

Hopewell-Loudon's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Brody Brickman, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Calvert's hitters rose to the challenge against a Golden Bears pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.92 runs allowed on Wednesday. The Senecas put the hurt on Gibsonburg with a sharp 13-3 victory. The Senecas might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by six runs or more this season.

Logan Ritzler made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.

Calvert pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Hopewell-Loudon, their record now sits at 13-2.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hopewell-Loudon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Calvert struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Hopewell-Loudon couldn't quite get it done against Calvert in their previous meeting on April 4th as they fell 7-2. Can the Chieftains avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.