The Durham Trojans will head out on the road to square off against the East Nicolaus Spartans at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Durham is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.5 runs per game this season.
Durham is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering East Nicolaus just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 7-3 to the Spartans.
Austin Salado put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Salado was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Durham got a good showing from Christian Koehler, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Koehler has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
Salado wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Owen Solano, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Even though they lost, Durham hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Nicolaus struck out ten times.
Durham's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-7. As for East Nicolaus, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 14-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Durham has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Nicolaus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
