The Gladewater Bears will head out on the road to take on the West Rusk Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Gladewater is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
If Gladewater beats West Rusk with 13 runs on Tuesday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. The Bears walked away with a 13-8 win over Arp last Friday.
Madaxx Vasquez
| 04/11/25 @ Arp | 1 |
| 03/18/25 vs Tatum | 1 |
| 02/13/25 @ Overton | 1 |
Madaxx Vasquez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off two hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was even better at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, Preston Bohanon was incredible, going 1-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That stolen base was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremiah Flanagan, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Gladewater kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Arp only managed six hits.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask West Rusk). They blew past Arp 15-4 on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Raiders considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Cole Jackson was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because West Rusk is 5-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-10-1 otherwise. Jackson was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI and one run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kam Brown, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Chris Sanchez, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
West Rusk has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-12-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Gladewater, their record now sits at 15-9.
Gladewater suffered a grim 8-0 defeat to West Rusk when the teams last played back in March. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
