Decatur is 2-8 against Tahoma since March of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Decatur Golden Gators will head out on the road to square off against the Tahoma Bears at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Decatur can't be too worried about heading out to take on Tahoma: they just beat Stadium at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. Decatur walked away with a 9-5 win over Stadium on Saturday.
The team relied heavily on Cervantes (CJ) Gatterson, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Dylan Reano, who went 1-for-1 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last contest, Tahoma made sure to put some runs up on the board against Kentridge on Saturday. Tahoma was the clear victor by a 12-3 margin over Kentridge.
Adam Jay was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits. Jay has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Jay was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Beckett Turnbow, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Elliott Thom was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
The victory got Decatur back to even at 9-9. As for Tahoma, they pushed their record up to 13-6 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Decatur has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tahoma struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Decatur might still be hurting after the 11-1 defeat they got from Tahoma in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Decatur, Conrad Henkel (who scored three runs and stole four bases while going 3-for-3) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
