The Capital Golden Eagles will head out on the road to square off against the Middleton Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Capital is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
On Tuesday, Capital needed a bit of extra time to put away Meridian. They won by a run and slipped past the Warriors 4-3.
Brady Ruzicka was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Preston Christianson, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Middleton faced Borah in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Middleton put the hurt on Borah with a sharp 9-1 win. Considering Middleton has won ten matchups by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Treyton Swygart made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Swygart has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Swygart was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Drew Holman, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Ryan Collins was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Capital's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-12. As for Middleton, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-3 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Capital has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Middleton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Capital might still be hurting after the 18-0 defeat they got from Middleton in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Capital, Robert Orloski (who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
