Baseball Game Preview: Higley Knights vs. Hamilton Huskies

The Higley Knights will face off against the Hamilton Huskies on Thursday. Higley will be strutting in after a victory while Hamilton will be coming in after a loss.

Higley is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over Mountain Ridge. Considering the Knights' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Higley got a great performance from Ryan Birch as he tossed 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Birch has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Nate Kimmel was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Heraldez, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI.

Meanwhile, Hamilton faced Mountain View in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Huskies fell just short of the Toros by a score of 8-7.

Boston Kellner was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run. Another player making a difference was Noah Berge, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Higley is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-11 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Hamilton, their defeat dropped their record down to 21-7.