The Montpelier Locomotives will head out to face off against the Stryker Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Montpelier has four straight wins, Stryker has 11 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Montpelier is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Paulding 18-3 on Monday. With that victory, the Locomotives brought their scoring average up to 8.5 runs per game.
Jaxon Stahler made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Stahler was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Tyler Plourde
| 04/14/25 @ Paulding | 5 |
| 04/05/24 vs Pettisville | 2 |
| 05/24/24 vs Hilltop | 1 |
| 05/02/24 @ Edgerton | 1 |
| 04/30/24 @ Antwerp | 1 |
In other batting news, Tyler Plourde was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kenneth Smeltzer, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Montpelier kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Stryker's offense. They lost 16-0 to Hilltop on Wednesday.
Stryker saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Daniel Donovan, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
Montpelier's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-0. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Stryker, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-3.
Stryker's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Montpelier has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .473. It's a different story for Stryker, though, as they've only averaged .212. Will they be able to contain Montpelier's hitters?
Everything went Montpelier's way against Stryker in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Montpelier made off with a 9-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Locomotives since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
