Bear River is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Lincoln is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Bruins will host the Fighting Zebras at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bear River 3.3, Lincoln 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
If Bear River beats Lincoln with nine runs on Wednesday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Bruins had just enough and edged out Cordova 9-8 on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Bruins in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now won three in a row.
The team relied heavily on Nolan Allen, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Seamus McKeown, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Bear River hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cordova struck out eight times.
Meanwhile, Lincoln earned a 6-2 victory over Woodland on Tuesday.
Jackson Cook spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Dylan Knell was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Diego Cuevas, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Lincoln is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Bear River, their victory bumped their record up to 13-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bear River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lincoln struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bear River was able to grind out a solid win over Lincoln in their previous meeting back in March, winning 3-0. Do the Bruins have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Fighting Zebras turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
