The Antwerp Archers are taking a road trip to challenge the Montpelier Locomotives at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Antwerp is headed into the match having just posted their closest victory since May 14, 2024 on Monday. They won by a run and slipped past North Central 7-6.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Friday Montpelier sidestepped North Central for a 9-8 win. The Locomotives haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Kenneth Smeltzer 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 six innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jacob Lyons, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. CJ Fidler was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and one stolen base.
Montpelier always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive contests.
Montpelier's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Antwerp, their win ended a six-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-10.
Antwerp might still be hurting after the 15-7 defeat they got from Montpelier in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Archers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
