Baseball Game Preview: Smoky Valley Vikings vs. Hillsboro Trojans

Smoky Valley and Hillsboro are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2018, but likely not for long. The Vikings will venture away from home to challenge the Trojans at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with nine consecutive losses dating back to last season for Smoky Valley and five for Hillsboro.

Smoky Valley is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They came up short against Hesston on Tuesday, falling 22-15.

vs

Runs Batted In

04/08/25 - Away	7
04/08/25 - Away	1

Ty Heitschmidt made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and two runs. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 4 RBI per game. Breckin Rogers was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Hillsboro fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Moundridge on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Wildcats by a score of 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Trojans have suffered since May 3, 2024.

Nash Dickinson put in work no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (one). He was even better at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 5-for-5. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.

Dickinson wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Philpott, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his six plate appearances. Philpott also put up a double, which was his first of the season. Another was Jace Morales, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.

Smoky Valley's record is now 0-4. As for Hillsboro, their record now sits at 2-5.