Rifle hasn't had much luck against Delta recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Bears will square off against the Panthers at 3:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
As a matter of fact, Rifle put up the most runs they have all season on Saturday. They lost 24-14 to Summit. The Bears just can't catch a break and have now endured four losses in a row.
Rifle saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Remington Decrow, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, one triple, and two RBI. Joseph Spritzer was another, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Delta entered their tilt with Aspen on Tuesday with six consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with seven. They never let the Skiers get on the board and left with a 15-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won nine matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Ripp Lockhart made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. Lockhart was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. That's the most doubles he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Davion Lopez was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rylan Cryer, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI and one double.
Delta was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. They are a perfect 8-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Delta pushed their record up to 11-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Rifle, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.
Rifle couldn't quite get it done against Delta in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 as they fell 6-3. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
