The Laurel Spartans will square off against the Parkdale Panthers on Wednesday.
Laurel fell victim to Bowie and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They lost 10-0 to the Bulldogs. The Spartans have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Parkdale). They put the hurt on Wise with a sharp 22-4 win on Monday. Considering the Panthers have won eight contests by more than eight runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Hector Diaz made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one RBI.
In other batting news, Anthony Paulino was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four runs, and four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Josue Herrera was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Parkdale was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .462. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wise only posted a batting average of .176.
The victory was the third in a row for Parkdale, bringing their record up to 9-3-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Laurel, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-5.
Laurel suffered a grim 17-8 defeat to Parkdale in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
