The Augusta Beavers will head out on the road to square off against the Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Augusta has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with six straight defeats, while Melrose-Mindoro will come in with four straight wins.
On Tuesday, Augusta came up short against Alma Center Lincoln and fell 8-5.
Bryce Buttke made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those hits were his first of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Melrose-Mindoro). They put the hurt on Pepin/Alma with a sharp 20-2 victory on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Mustangs with their most commanding win of the season.
Jacob Thesing was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Eric Herzberg, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, five runs, and five RBI. Those five runs gave him a new career-high. Brett Peterson was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three RBI and one run.
Melrose-Mindoro always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .619. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Melrose-Mindoro's record is now 10-3. As for Augusta, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Augusta suffered a grim 18-4 defeat to Melrose-Mindoro in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Beavers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
