Softball Game Preview: Osage City Indians vs. Mission Valley Vikings

The Osage City Indians will head out to square off against the Mission Valley Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Osage City's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Mission Valley's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Osage City's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Hayden hitters got past them. The Indians lost 11-4 to the Wildcats on Tuesday. The Indians have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Mission Valley earned an 18-14 victory over West Franklin on Thursday. That's two games straight that the Vikings have won by exactly four runs.

Mission Valley got a massive performance out of Kyplee Jacobson, who went 5-for-6 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Those five hits gave Jacobson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Adaline Bloomfield, who went 4-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Mission Valley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 27 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive matchups.

Mission Valley has been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.4 runs over those games. As for Osage City, their loss dropped their record down to 11-7.

Osage City skirted past Mission Valley 8-6 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Indians since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.