The Malcolm Clippers are taking a road trip to square off against the Beatrice Orangemen at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Malcolm is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last 13 games.
Malcolm can't be too worried about heading out to take on Beatrice: they just beat Plattsmouth at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Clippers walked away with an 8-3 victory over the Blue Devils on Monday.
Cole Tiedeman was a standout: he got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs. Another player making a difference was Logan Mcgreer, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Beatrice and Platte Valley have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Tuesday. The Orangemen put the hurt on Platte Valley with a sharp 16-2 win. The Orangemen might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by six runs or more this season.
Kale Koch made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Beatrice is 3-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 5-6 otherwise. Koch was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted over his last 11 games.
In other batting news, Beatrice got a massive performance out of Isaac DeBoer, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those four hits gave DeBoer a new career-high. Nolan Schmale also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Beatrice was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .542. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Malcolm's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-1. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Beatrice, they now have a winning record of 8-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Malcolm has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Beatrice struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Malcolm skirted past Beatrice 14-13 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Clippers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
