The Rangely Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Cedaredge Bruins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Rangely has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Cedaredge will arrive with seven straight victories.
Rangely came up short against Olathe on Thursday, falling 19-7. Even though they lost, the Panthers' still made a splash at the plate and bumped their average scoring up to 6.2 runs per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Marcos Quintana made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
While Cedaredge didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They never let Grand Valley get on the board and left with a 10-0 win on Thursday. Considering the Bruins have won five games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Colten Hutto made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dane Brown, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Makai Salazar also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Cedaredge kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Grand Valley only managed two hits.
Cedaredge pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Rangely, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Rangely has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cedaredge struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Rangely beat Cedaredge 15-10 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.