The Estes Park Bobcats are taking a road trip to square off against the Fort Lupton Bluedevils at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Estes Park is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 14 runs two weeks ago, they were much more limited against Platte Valley last Friday. They lost 10-2 to the Broncos. The defeat continues a trend for the Bobcats in their meetings with the Broncos: they've now lost four in a row.
Meanwhile, Fort Lupton had to endure a five-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Jefferson by a score of 17-13 on Monday.
Javier Ortiz made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Fort Lupton is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-4 otherwise. Ortiz was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with four runs, four RBI, and two doubles. He has been hot recently, having also posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Fort Lupton got a massive performance out of Andrew Dreiling, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. Dreiling is becoming a predictor of the Bluedevils' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-5 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Josiah Gonzales, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Fort Lupton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. They are 2-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Estes Park now has a losing record of 1-2. As for Fort Lupton, their record now sits at 4-5.
Tuesday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Estes Park hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .405. However, it's not like Fort Lupton struggles in that department as they've averaged .326. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Estes Park was able to grind out a solid win over Fort Lupton when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 8-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bobcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
