Baseball Game Preview: Lincoln Prep Lightning vs. Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils

The Lincoln Prep Lightning will take on the Santa Cruz Valley Dust Devils at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Lincoln Prep made up a huge gap compared to their last game against North Valley Christian Academy, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Lincoln Prep blew past North Valley Christian Academy 16-5 on Wednesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lightning.

Finn Dilley

Batters Struck Out

03/26/25 @ North Valley Christian Academy	13
03/21/25 @ Miami	14
03/17/25 vs Veritas Prep	3
03/01/25 vs ALA - Ironwood	9
02/27/25 vs Coolidge	1

Finn Dilley made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 13 batters over five innings while giving up five earned runs off seven hits. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.7 strikeouts per game. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-5. What's more, he posted two doubles, the most he's had since back in May of 2024.

In other batting news, Jackson Platt was excellent, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Asher Smith was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

Lincoln Prep always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .564. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Santa Cruz Valley waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. Everything went their way against the Titans as they made off with an 18-1 win.

Santa Cruz Valley's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-4. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Lincoln Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 3-5-1.