Manitou Springs and St. Mary are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Manitou Springs Mustangs will be playing at home against the St. Mary's Pirates at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Manitou Springs can now show off three landslide victories after their most recent contest on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 16-2 margin over Salida. While fans of Manitou Springs might be used to big wins, the 14-run margin marked the team's biggest win yet this season.
Manitou Springs let Hayden Martinez and Beck Enquist loose on the outfield. Martinez scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Enquist scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Preston Rhodes, who went 1-for-2 with three runs, a triple, and an RBI.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's has not done well against Peyton recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Everything went St. Mary's way against Peyton as St. Mary's made off with a 9-3 victory. The win was just what St. Mary's needed coming off of an 18-5 loss in their prior match.
Ryan Strub made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up just two earned runs but no hits. Strub was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, St. Mary's let Jackson Lewis and Peter Ghigleri loose on the outfield. Lewis scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3, while Ghigleri scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Adam Jolicouer, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Manitou Springs has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2-1 record this season. As for St. Mary's, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Manitou Springs has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like St. Mary's struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Manitou Springs was able to grind out a solid win over St. Mary's in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, winning 7-2. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was St. Mary's Quinten Borchardt, who struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off seven hits. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be that much easier for Manitou Springs to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
