The North Tahoe Lakers are taking a road trip to face off against the Sierra Lutheran Falcons at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. North Tahoe will be strutting in after a win while Sierra Lutheran will be coming in after a loss.
While North Tahoe didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-13), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Incline 9-2 on Thursday. Considering the Lakers have won seven matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Peter Rusek made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Leyton Roberts was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. Haaken Anderson also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
North Tahoe was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Incline only posted a batting average of .222.
Meanwhile, Sierra Lutheran was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They came up short against North Tahoe, falling 12-1.
Sierra Lutheran saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Ramirez, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance gave Ramirez a new career-high in hits.
North Tahoe's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-3. As for Sierra Lutheran, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8-1.
Sierra Lutheran's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: North Tahoe has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .477. It's a different story for Sierra Lutheran, though, as they've only averaged .359. Will they be able to contain North Tahoe's hitters?
North Tahoe took their win against Sierra Lutheran in their previous matchup on Tuesday by a conclusive 12-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Tahoe since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
