Sandalwood is 3-0 against Oakleaf since March of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Sandalwood Saints will head out on the road to square off against the Oakleaf Knights at 6:30 p.m. Sandalwood is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Sandalwood will head into Tuesday's matchup out to bounce back: they came back down to earth last Tuesday after soaring to a 15-point match in their last game. They fell just short of Englewood by a score of 4-2. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, Sandalwood couldn't push the score so high this time.
Sandalwood saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Tibbetts, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with an RBI.
Meanwhile, Oakleaf scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They blew past Interlachen 13-1. The win was familiar territory for Oakleaf who now have five in a row.
Jacob Mclintic looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on JP Espinosa, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs. Ryan Mueller Jr was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Sandalwood's defeat dropped their record down to 10-10. As for Oakleaf, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sandalwood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakleaf struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Sandalwood was able to grind out a solid victory over Oakleaf in their previous matchup back in April of 2022, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Sandalwood since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
