Baseball Game Preview: Sumner Spartans vs. Bethel Bison

The Sumner Spartans will challenge the Bethel Bison at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Sumner's pitching crew has only allowed 2.1 runs per game this season, so Bethel's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Sumner is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Emerald Ridge, who was ranked tenth at the time (Sumner was ranked seventh). The Spartans fell just short of the Jaguars by a score of 2-1 on Thursday. The Spartans' defeat signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bethel). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Spanaway Lake a 15-0 shutout on Wednesday. The win continues a trend for the Bison in their matchups with the Sentinels: they've now won nine in a row.

Not much got past Jakob Reynolds, who gave up just two hits and racked up eight Ks to keep Spanaway Lake off the board. Reynolds also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Bethel is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 2-11 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Carson Dietsche was a standout: he went 3-for-5 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Austin Brittain, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

Bethel was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .464. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Sumner's loss dropped their record down to 13-3. As for Bethel, their victory bumped their record up to 4-12.

Sumner got the 'W' in their previous meeting back in April of 2025 against Bethel by a conclusive 14-0 score. Do the Spartans have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bison turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.