The Paynesville Bulldogs will challenge the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Holdingford hit Paynesville with a five-run sixth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Bulldogs fell just short of the Huskers by a score of 7-6. Bulldogs fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Huskers since on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City didn't have quite enough to beat Royalton on Saturday and fell 5-3. The Falcons have struggled against the Royals recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meeting.
Jaxon Drange was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.
Drange wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Reagan Elton, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. That stolen base was Elton's first of the season.
This is the second loss in a row for Paynesville and nudges their season record down to 6-6. As for Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.
Paynesville was able to grind out a solid victory over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City when the teams last played back in April, winning 3-0. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Falcons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
