Baseball Game Preview: Colton Wildcats vs. Dayton Bulldogs

Colton is 0-3 against Dayton since March of 2024 but things could change on Tuesday. The Wildcats will host the Bulldogs at 2:00 p.m. Colton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.5 runs per game this season.

Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Colton turned things around against Garfield-Palouse on Saturday. They walked away with a 7-3 win over the Vikings.

Tanner Baerlocher

Earned Runs

03/20/25 @ Orofino	16
04/16/25 @ Waitsburg/Prescott	1
04/12/25 vs St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse	1

Tanner Baerlocher made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Colton is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-4 otherwise. Baerlocher was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one run. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last seven times he's played.

Baerlocher wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Skyler Purnell, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Xavier Druffel also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Dayton). They blew past Waitsburg/Prescott 15-1 on Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.

Dayton is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for Colton, their victory bumped their record up to 3-5.

Colton might still be hurting after the 12-2 loss they got from Dayton when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.