The Berlin/New Lebanon Mountain Lions will venture away from home to challenge the Germantown Clippers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Berlin/New Lebanon's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three games, but Thursday's match will give them a chance to turn things around.
Warrensburg hit Berlin/New Lebanon with a six-run fourth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mountain Lions came up short against the Burgers, falling 11-1. That's two games in a row now that the Mountain Lions have lost by exactly ten runs.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Germantown). They were the clear victors by a 17-2 margin over Windham-Ashland-Jewett on Wednesday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Clippers' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Brian Gardner made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Those stolen bases marked the first that he has snagged this season.
In other batting news, Germantown let Mason Brown and Tristan Hazleton run wild. Brown went a perfect 5-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple, while Hazleton went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That triple was Brown's first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Hildenbrand, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Germantown always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .615. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Berlin/New Lebanon's defeat dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Germantown, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-7.