The Grand Junction Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Durango Demons at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Saturday, it was close, but Grand Junction sidestepped Northglenn for a 5-3 win. Five seems to be a good number for Grand Junction as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Grand Junction got a great performance from Kody Knott as he struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits.
At the plate, Grand Junction's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Andrew Henderson, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Tyler Johnson was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Durango entered their tilt with Pagosa Springs with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They skirted past the Pirates 6-5.
Jack Englund made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits (he also only allowed one walk). Englund was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, Dylan Burns was excellent, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Ian Szura, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Grand Junction pushed their record up to 8-6 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs per game. As for Durango, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Grand Junction has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Durango struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Grand Junction's way against Durango in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 as Grand Junction made off with an 11-3 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Grand Junction 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
