Baseball Game Preview: Upsala/Swanville Patriots vs. St. John's Prep Johnnies

Upsala/Swanville has gone 8-2 against St. John's Prep recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Patriots will face off against the Johnnies at 3:30 p.m. Upsala/Swanville is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

Upsala/Swanville is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Long Prairie-Grey Eagle just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Tuesday. They came up short against the Thunder, falling 11-5. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Patriots, who until this contest were averaging 3.5 runs allowed.

Osakis hit St. John's Prep with a five-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Johnnies lost 12-2 to the Silverstreaks. The defeat continues a trend for the Johnnies in their meetings with the Silverstreaks: they've now lost seven in a row.

St. John's Prep's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Upsala/Swanville, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-3.

Upsala/Swanville took their victory against St. John's Prep in their previous matchup two weeks ago by a conclusive 14-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Patriots since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.