The Moffat County Bulldogs will be playing at home against the North Fork Miners at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing isn't great for Moffat County: they have been struggling with five straight losses at home dating back to last season, while North Fork has snatched up five consecutive wins on the road.
While Moffat County couldn't quite beat Steamboat Springs on Wednesday, the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 17-point loss they were dealt on Wednesday. Moffat County fell just short of Steamboat Springs by a score of 11-9.
Zaylan Kirby and Caleb Squires did some serious damage despite the final result: Kirby went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI, while Squires scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous three contests, North Fork brought some dynamite into their most recent game. They walked away with a 12-8 victory over Rangely on Monday. The win was just what North Fork needed coming off of a 15-0 defeat in their prior match.
Kaleb Crawford and Hayden Moreno were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Crawford struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Moreno struck out seven batters over 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits (and only one walk). At bat, Crawford went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double, while Moreno scored a run and stole three bases while going 1-for-4. Moreno has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Payson Pene and Mario Gama did most of the damage at the plate: Pene scored four runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-4, while Gama scored three runs while going 4-for-5. Hunter Moreno was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Moffat County's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for North Fork, their victory bumped their record up to 6-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Moffat County has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Fork struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Moffat County's way against North Fork in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 as Moffat County made off with a 14-4 win. Will Moffat County repeat their success, or does North Fork have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
