Newport has won seven straight games at home, while Chewelah has won seven straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. The Grizzlies will host the Cougars at 11:00 a.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Newport 2.6, Chewelah 1.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Tuesday as neither Newport nor Chewelah made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Grizzlies never let the Cougars get on the board and left with a 4-0 victory.
Hank Kirkwood was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Kirkwood wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brody Driver, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Newport has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Chewelah, their victory bumped their record up to 18-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Newport has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Chewelah struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
