The Wendell Trojans will venture away from home to challenge the Challis Vikings at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Gooding hit Wendell with a four-run fourth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Trojans fell just short of the Senators by a score of 7-5. Surprisingly, this marked the Trojans' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Gunner Jones
| 04/18/25 vs Gooding | 2 |
| 04/15/25 vs Declo | 1 |
| 04/12/25 vs Idaho City | 3 |
Gunner Jones made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
Meanwhile, Challis got the win against West Jefferson on Thursday by a conclusive 12-2. Considering the Vikings have won six matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Garrison Applegate made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Those 13 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Brayden Ollar was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two triples, three runs, and two RBI. Those two triples gave him a new career-high. Roy Jones was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Challis was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Challis pushed their record up to 10-5-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Wendell, their loss dropped their record down to 5-10-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wendell has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Challis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wendell might still be hurting after the 14-6 defeat they got from Challis when the teams last played last Thursday. Can the Trojans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
