By Roger White

Battleford bragging rights on the line tonight in NSRBL action

Jun 15, 2017 | 11:48 AM

When you look at tonight’s North Saskatchewan River Baseball League game between the North Battleford Beavers and the expansion Battleford Trappers it’s easy to see that statistics can be deceiving.

On paper, the Beavers sit first atop the Albers Division with a 4-2-1 record while the Trappers, losers of five straight games; have a 2-5 record. However the Trappers team batting average (.360) is top in the league while North Battleford sits seventh overall (.275) as well they have a better team ERA (3.32) than the Beavers (3.67) early in the young season.

 “We have had a few games where it has come down to a few mental mistakes that the opposition has capitalized on,” Trappers skipper Michael Hudec said. “When we look at our early record we could just as could have just as easily been 4-1 rather than 2-3.”  

Veteran right-hander Mike Ross goes to the hill tonight for the Trappers. Ross has one win and one loss in two games he has started this season with an earned run average of 3.18 in 11 innings of work.

The Beavers will counter with Kyle Palmer for North Battleford with a 2-1 record and a stingy ERA of 1.24.

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“Kyle is an excellent pitcher,” Hudec said. “Our boys will have to be on their game and get good at bats because if he is hitting his spots around the plate, we could be in for a long night.”

North Battleford coach Ryan Shepard knows the Trappers will be a tough test for his ball club and expects a very competitive game.

“Those guys (Trappers) are a lot better than their record indicates,” Shepard said. “They have a great mix of veteran players and young guys who made the jump from Midget AA so tonight should be a good test for us.”

Tonight’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Ken Nelson Field in North Battleford.

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW