Chugiak and Eagle River are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2016, but likely not for long. The Chugiak Mustangs will head out on the road to take on the Eagle River Wolves at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday. Chugiak is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.
Chugiak is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: South Anchorage, who was ranked second in their home state at the time (Chugiak was ranked third). Chugiak lost 11-1 to South Anchorage on Wednesday. The defeat continues a trend for Chugiak in their matchups with South Anchorage: they've now lost four in a row.
Chugiak saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Owen Dockstader, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a double.
Meanwhile, Eagle River put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. They blew past Bartlett 15-0.
Dallin Roberts was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Roberts was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Eagle River let Tommy Molloy and Miguel Marrero loose on the outfield. Molloy scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Marrero scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Riley Lanehart, who scored two runs and stole two bases.
Chugiak's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-5-1. As for Eagle River, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Chugiak has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Eagle River struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Chugiak was able to grind out a solid win over Eagle River in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, winning 10-7. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Eagle River's Alex Mullen, who struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits (and only one walk). Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be that much easier for Chugiak to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
