The St. Cloud Bulldogs are on the road again on Friday to play the Freedom Patriots at 6:00 p.m. St. Cloud is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.8 runs per game this season.
St. Cloud can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. They blew past Hopkins 10-1.
Jerrid Munguia looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Josh Bejarano, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Sammy Echeverry, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Freedom was able to grind out a solid win over Colonial last Thursday, taking the game 4-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Freedom.
Blake Echols made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits (he also only allowed one walk). Echols was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
In other pitching news, Freedom got a great performance from Anthony Unruh as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (he also only allowed one walk).
Back at the plate, Hermes Garcia was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two RBI, and a double. Jay Martinez was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
St. Cloud is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for Freedom, their record is now 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Cloud has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Freedom struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Cloud took their victory against Freedom in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 15-0. Will St. Cloud repeat their success, or does Freedom have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
