Casper, Wyoming - Amidst their longest losing streak of the season, the Fremont Moo will try to break a four-game skid at league-leasing Casper in a midweek two-game set. Fremont (11-9) sits in third place in the Indepence League Baseball Standings, four games back of first-place Casper (14-4) with six d\ays left in the first-half of the season.

While the Spuds have rolled through their schedule for the most part of this year, the Moo have had the best luck of any team against them. In a home series on June 10 and 11, Fremont swept Casper two games to nothing. In game one, Dylan Driessen struck out ten batters in six innings in his Moo debut for a 3-0 victory. Quality pitching continued in game two, as Robert O’Malley had seven strikeouts in seven innings  en route to a 3-2 lead.

Since the sweep, Casper has refound its footing in dominating fashion. A friendly stretch of the season gave Casper four straight games against last-place Oahe and the Spuds took advantage. In the first two games, played in South Dakota, the Casper bats woke up to the tune of 12-4 and 10-7 victories. Then over the weekend back in Wyoming, the Spuds had two of the most dominating wins of the weekend, first a 26-0 thrashing of the Zap on Saturday, followe dby a 14-9 win Sunday. Casper had Monday off.

It’s taken a balanced effort for Casper’s hot-start to the 2024 season. Wesley Flatt (.393 AVG), Elijah Reeves (.382(, Josh Phillips (.364), Kody Clausius (.318), Chase Burke (.311), Dawson Baracani (.303) and Dylan Shlotterback (.300) are all batting at least .300. Phillips has emerged as the power hitter for Casper with five home runs this season, to go along with a team-leading 25 RBIs. Matt Marsic is close behind with 24 RBIs.

On the mound, Ty Vollmar has been the early ace for Casper. Sporting a 3-0 record through just three starts, Vollmar has a 1.68 ERA. Phillips has the lone save for the Spuds and has been dominant, giving up no earned runs in four one-inning relief performances.

The Moo meanwhile are looking to get back on their feet after the Sodbusters swept the Moo 3-0. It was Fremont’s first time on the losing side of a sweep this season as the Moo bats continued a cold stretch. In a Saturday doubleheader, the Moo managed just two runs in fourteen innings as Fremont fell 3-1 and 5-1. The cold stretch continued Monday, as Fremont once against put just one run across the board, falling 3-1 for a fourth straight loss.

While Moo batting averages have fallen during the recent losing streak, Cooper Fuchino (.339 AVG), Miles Meadows (.314), Bridger Coleman (.311), Trey Brooks (.308) and Tyrus Petsche (.308) have all managed to stay hitting above. 300. In the home run race, Stephen Espinoza, Coleman, Petsche and Fuchino all have the lead at one. Coleman also leads in RBIs at 11.

On the mound Kadyn Van Hill (2-1) and Robert O’Malley (2-0) are the early wins leaders, sporting 3.17 and 0.64 ERAs respectively. Hayden Kelberlau (1.68 ERA) and Alex Oliver (0.00) each have a pair of saves.

The Casper series will be the Moo’s first foray into a new time zone this year, with the Spuds playing in Mountain Daylight Time. First pitch is at 6:30 local, 7:30 central standard time both Tuesday and Wednesday.