Baseball Game Preview: Valley View Eagles vs. Liberty Bison

For the second straight game, Valley View will face off against Liberty. The Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Bison at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Valley View fell victim to Liberty and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They lost 11-0 to the Bison. The game marked the first time this year in which the Eagles were not able to get on the board.

For Liberty's part, Logan Paad looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Paad has become a key player for the Bison: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 4-6 otherwise.

At the plate, Riley Vogt and Ian Slater did most of the damage at the plate: Vogt scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Slater scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Vogt a new career-high in RBI (two). Alexander Arteaga was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.

Liberty always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .537. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Liberty has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-7 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.2 runs over those games. As for Valley View, their loss was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 5-10.

Valley View's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's matchup. The Eagles have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Liberty, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Valley View continue to outrun the ball? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.