The Buhl Indians will take on the Shelley Russets in a tournament on Saturday.
Buhl kicked off their season on the road on Friday and hit a couple of potholes. They took an 8-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Sugar-Salem. The Indians haven't had much luck with the Diggers recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Shelley). They blew past American Falls 19-2 on Friday. With that victory, the Russets brought their scoring average up to 8.2 runs per game.
Alex Beck was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Beck was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March of 2025.
In other pitching news, Tag Craven looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, Shelley got a massive performance out of Jaxon Crandle, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four runs, three RBI, and two doubles. That's the most RBI Crandle has posted since back in March of 2025. Zach Trosper was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Shelley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .484. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Buhl couldn't quite get it done against Shelley when the teams last played back in April of 2018 as they fell 10-6. Can the Indians avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
