Baseball Game Preview: Houston Hawks vs. Kenai Central Kardinals

The Houston Hawks will head out to challenge the Kenai Central Kardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Houston is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Redington, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Houston was ranked 20th). The Hawks' pitchers stepped up to hand the Huskies an 11-0 shutout on Saturday. That looming 11-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Hawks yet this season.

Meanwhile, Kenai Central got the win against Grace Christian on Saturday by a conclusive 15-0. The Kardinals haven't had any issues with the Grizzlies recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Everett Chamberlain made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Braden Smith, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Logan Mese, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

Kenai Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .762. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Houston's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-6. As for Kenai Central, their record now sits at 7-3.

Houston came out on top in a nail-biter against Kenai Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.