The Prairie Pirates will face off against the Troy Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Prairie has five straight victories, Troy has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Monday, Prairie got the win against Lapwai by a conclusive 17-1. Considering the Pirates have won six games by more than eight runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Levi McElroy and Kade Quintal were major factors no matter where they played. On the mound, McElroy pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Quintal tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. At the plate, McElroy went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI, while Quintal went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. McElroy has become a key player for Prairie: the team is 7-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-3 otherwise.
Collin Ray
| 04/15/25 vs Nezperce | 4 |
| 04/17/25 @ Nezperce | 3 |
| 04/08/25 vs Lapwai | 3 |
| 04/21/25 @ Lapwai | 2 |
| 04/19/25 @ Genesee | 1 |
| + 3 more games |
In other batting news, Phil Schwartz and Collin Ray did most of the damage at the plate: Schwartz went 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple, while Ray got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Prairie is undefeated when Ray posts two or more runs, but 3-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Noah Geis, who got on base in both of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Prairie was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .533. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .400 or higher in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Troy fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Potlatch on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Loggers by a score of 4-3.
Dominic Holden was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He struck out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Holden was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
Holden wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Payton Christensen, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one run. Archer Barton also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Prairie's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-4. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Troy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Troy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Prairie hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .411. It's a different story for Troy, though, as they've only averaged .257. Will they be able to contain Prairie's hitters?
Prairie might still be hurting after the 17-7 defeat they got from Troy in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
