Baseball Preview: Onaga Buffaloes vs. Valley Falls Dragons
Onaga is 3-0 against Valley Falls since May of 2023, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Onaga Buffaloes will head out on the road to face off against the Valley Falls Dragons at 4:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Valley Falls is hoping to do on Thursday what St. Mary's Academy couldn't on Monday: put an end to Onaga's winning streak, which now stands at seven games. Everything went Onaga's way against St. Mary's Academy as Onaga made off with a 9-2 win.
Jackson Kolterman made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Kolterman has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive pitching appearances. Kolterman was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, a triple, and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Xavier Berges, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Casen Hutfles was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, Valley Falls had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. Everything went their way against the Rams as they made off with an 11-4 victory.
Like Onaga, Valley Falls also got a great game from a two-way player: Collin Kearney. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up four earned runs off three hits. Kearney was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Damian Cervantez was a standout: he scored a run while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Grant Meyer, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Onaga pushed their record up to 13-3 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home. As for Valley Falls, their record is now 13-2.
Thursday's matchup will be a test for both team's pitchers. Onaga hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .338. However, it's not like Valley Falls struggles in that department as they've averaged .397. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Onaga was able to grind out a solid victory over Valley Falls in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, winning 8-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for Onaga since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
