Baseball Game Preview: Kearney Bearcats vs. North Platte Bulldogs

The Kearney Bearcats will square off against the North Platte Bulldogs at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The timing is sure in Kearney's favor as the squad sits on eight straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while North Platte has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.

Kearney is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Lincoln East, who was ranked first at the time (Kearney was ranked 12th). The Bearcats fell 9-5 to the Spartans on Wednesday.

Derrick Nonhof was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Kearney is 5-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-6 otherwise.

At the plate, Tysen Cabela made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run. Keaton Wemhoff was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles.

North Platte couldn't beat Grand Island on Friday even though they stacked six runs on them in the fifth inning. The Bulldogs fell just short of the Islanders by a score of 9-7. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Bulldogs have suffered since May 3, 2024.

North Platte saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jacoby Silos, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

North Platte's loss dropped their record down to 3-11. As for Kearney, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-7.

Kearney came up short against North Platte when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 11-8. Can the Bearcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.