*Updated* Weekend Preview - Sat 6/6 @ Elmwood, Sun 6/7 @ River Falls

The St. Croix River Bandits (0-4, 0-9) continue their search for their first win of the season. Team Soothsayer Jim Rochford states, "With Gagner looking to be done for the season, or honest goal is to finish with a better conference record than last season (2-13). Jay was our equalizer, these SCVBL teams have a lot of talent, and we are going to continue to look for ways or guys to plug in who can play." The Bandits will travel this weekend to Elmwood on Saturday and River Falls on Sunday, hoping for at least a split.

The Bandits take on the Elmwood Expos on Saturday. The Bandits are 0-1 lifetime versus the Expos. The Expos beat the Bandits last season in a 11-3 drubbing on a miserable 91 degree and muggy day. The Expos are 3-8 this season and 2-3 in conference play , with those 2 wins coming against the upstart Hager City Skeeters. I would have some stats from last game for you dear readers but it appears whoever kept book only listed #s instead of names and the Expos website does not list player #s...so.... But I can tell you that every single Expo batter got to first on either a hit, walk, error, or catcher's interference.... expect their clean-up hitter who went 0-5. Figures. This season, while Elmwood's conference record looks fair, they are off to a rocky start also. Expo pitching has been inconsistent, giving up lots of walks, in fact more walks than hits. At the plate, The Expos have three hitters that are batting near .300 or better, similiar to the Bandits. However, the Bandits will not take Elmwood for granted like they did last year when they got their butts handed to them.

Sunday, the River Bandits take on the River Falls Fighting Fish in River Falls. The Fish are 4-6 this season but are 3-1 in conference with victories over Menomonie, Ellsworth, and Hudson. The Fish took 2 games from the Bandits last year winning 5-1 and 8-2. Bandits hitters have only managed 10 hits in 2 games versus Fish pitching, and hopefully that trend will change on Sunday.

Sam Giliuson and Ryan Gilbertson are of to hot starts for the Fish. 2B Giliuson is hitting .476 with 7 walks and only 1 strikeout. 1B Gilbertson is batting .303 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 RBI. Fish pitching has been fairly consistent this season. The staff is averaging almost a strikout and inning, and allowing 4.7 walks per game. Quote-man Jim Rochford says "Hopefully the Fish will be looking past us a little bit, as they have a game on Wednesday and Saturday. Maybe we can jump out to an early lead like we did against New Richmond, except this time, keep the pressure on and pull out a victory.