Ballston Spa is on a five-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Shaker is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Scotties will welcome the Bison at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Ballston Spa 2.4, Shaker 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
While Ballston Spa's win against Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Scotties never let the Spartans get on the board and left with a 1-0 victory on Monday. The one-run effort marked the Scotties' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Ballston Spa got a great performance from Michael Pritchard as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Ballston Spa's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Nick Commisso, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.
Ballston Spa hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Shaker won against Rome Free Academy on Tuesday with 14 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Bison blew past Albany 14-1. Considering the Bison have won four games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Tom Case made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Shaker got a massive performance out of Case LaChance, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those three runs gave LaChance a new career-high. Jason Bailey was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Ballston Spa's victory bumped their record up to 7-0. As for Shaker, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ballston Spa has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Shaker struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 12.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ballston Spa came out on top in a nail-biter against Shaker in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Scotties repeat their success, or do the Bison have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
