The Dale Pirates are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will take on the Stroud Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
While Dale's victory against Bishop McGuinness wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Pirates skirted past the Fighting Irish 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Pirates have posted since April 24, 2025.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Stroud). Everything went their way against Okemah on Monday as they made off with a 13-1 victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
The team relied heavily on Cal Shields, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Stroud's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't). Gage Bailey was another key player, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two RBI.
Stroud was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Okemah only posted a batting average of .000.
The victory got Dale back to even at 1-1. As for Stroud, their record is now 6-4.
Everything went Dale's way against Stroud when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Dale made off with a 12-2 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Pirates 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
