Baseball Game Preview: Waverly Vikings vs. Crete Cardinals

Waverly is a perfect 7-0 against Crete since April of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Vikings will venture away from home to challenge the Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. Waverly will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.

While Waverly's victory against Mount Michael Benedictine wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Vikings won by a run and slipped past the Knights 1-0.

Brennan Miller

Batters Struck Out

04/21/25 vs Mount Michael Benedictine	8
04/15/25 @ Gretna East	9
04/05/25 @ Standing Bear	12

The result came thanks to Brennan Miller's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Waverly's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Hunter Thoms, who went 1-for-4 with one triple.

Waverly hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Crete fell victim to Seward and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They lost 6-0 to the Bluejays. The Cardinals have struggled against the Bluejays recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.

Waverly pushed their record up to 14-5 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Crete, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-9.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Waverly has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Crete struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Waverly beat Crete 6-1 in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.