The Snake River Panthers will head out to take on the Sugar-Salem Diggers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.
Snake River came into this matchup off a tough 26-run loss on Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of South Fremont by a score of 4-2 on Thursday. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Cougars recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Justin Wray was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.
Meanwhile, Sugar-Salem got the win against Thunder Ridge on Thursday by a conclusive 15-5. The Diggers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by nine runs or more this season.
Kace Malstrom and Jack Gardner were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Malstrom pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Gardner struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off only one hit (and not a single walk). Malstrom is becoming a predictor of Sugar-Salem's success: when he allows at most three earned runs the team is 3-1 (and 2-3 when he doesn't). At bat, Malstrom scored a run while going 2-for-4, while Gardner went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Will Chappell, who fired off two home runs, four runs, and five RBI while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Sugar-Salem: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Dawson McInelly, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
Sugar-Salem lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in May of 2024.
Sugar-Salem pushed their record up to 5-4 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Snake River, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Snake River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Sugar-Salem struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Snake River might still be hurting after the 26-0 loss they got from Sugar-Salem in their previous meeting on Tuesday. Can Snake River avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
