The Englewood Pirates will square off against the Platte Canyon Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Englewood has given up an average of 8.3 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Englewood lost 13-1 to Alameda on Monday. Englewood has struggled against Alameda recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Platte Canyon, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They blew past Arrupe Jesuit 15-2 on Monday. The Huskies haven't had any issues with the Generals recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Jacob Haase and Nathan Laabs made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Haase tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Laabs pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Haase a new career-high in strikeouts (four). At bat, Haase got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and three runs, while Laabs went 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Laabs has become a key player for Platte Canyon: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 0-9 otherwise.
In other batting news, Platte Canyon let Colton Shirley and Jerod Horta run wild. Shirley went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, five RBI, and one run, while Horta got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run and three runs. Horta is becoming a predictor of Platte Canyon's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 0-8 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Christian Walters, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Platte Canyon always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .639. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Platte Canyon's win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-6 and their overall record up to 3-9. As for Englewood, their loss dropped their record down to 5-8.
Englewood might still be hurting after the 13-1 defeat they got from Platte Canyon in their previous matchup back in March of 2018. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
