Baseball Game Preview: Astoria Fishermen vs. North Bend Bulldogs

The Astoria Fishermen will square off against the North Bend Bulldogs on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with six losses in a row, Astoria turned things around against St. Helens on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-1 win over the Lions. That looming 6-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Fishermen yet this season.

Joey Gramlich made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over seven innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, five RBI, and one double. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high.

Gramlich wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Izacc Crawford, who went 1-for-2 with two runs. Tyson Robinson also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.

Meanwhile, North Bend came tearing into Friday's game with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.9 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over the Lions. The result was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who have now won seven matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

North Bend's victory bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Astoria, their win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 4-8.

Astoria came out on top in a nail-biter against North Bend in their previous matchup back in May of 2016, sneaking past 7-6. Will the Fishermen repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.