The Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs will head out on the road to square off against the Merino Rams at 11:00 a.m. in Saturday's first game. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Thursday, everything went Haxtun's way against Otis as Haxtun made off with an 11-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Haxtun.
Kanin Koberstein made a big impact no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks). Koberstein was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
In other batting news, Colin Cone was incredible, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Madden Larsen was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 4-for-4.
Meanwhile, everything went Merino's way against Peetz on Thursday as Merino made off with a 16-2 victory.
Like Haxtun, Merino also got a great game from a two-way player: Coen Schmidt. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Schmidt was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Tyler Miller was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2. Another player making a difference was Isaac Poe, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Haxtun has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. As for Merino, their record now sits at 9-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart in Saturday's first game as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Haxtun has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Merino struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Haxtun suffered a grim 10-3 defeat to Merino when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Haxtun, Deacon Trenkle (who struck out eight batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit) 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
