The Bear River Bruins will face off against the Oakmont Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bear River 1.8, Oakmont 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Wednesday, Bear River didn't have quite enough to beat Marysville and fell 2-1.
Cooper Berry
| 04/02/25 @ Marysville | 8 |
| 03/26/25 @ Lincoln | 5 |
| 03/19/25 @ East Nicolaus | 8 |
| 03/04/25 vs Truckee | 5 |
| 02/25/25 vs East Nicolaus | 5 |
Cooper Berry spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ben Barley was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Oakmont made easy work of Eureka on Wednesday and carried off an 8-1 win. The Vikings might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by seven runs or more this season.
Eureka's batters probably weren't too happy with CJ Smith, who pitched a no hitter and racked up eight Ks (he gave up four walks). Those eight strikeouts set a new season-high mark for Smith.
On the hitting side, Oakmont's victory was truly a team effort as 11 different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Peyton Oliver, who scored a run while going 2-for-2. Those two hits gave Oliver a new career-high. Logan Anderson was another, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Oakmont was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eureka only posted a batting average of .000.
Oakmont pushed their record up to 13-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.2 runs over those games. As for Bear River, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-3 record this season.
Bear River's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's contest. The Bruins have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Oakmont, though, as they've been averaging only 1.4 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Bear River continue to outrun the ball?
Bear River couldn't quite get it done against Oakmont when the teams last played two weeks ago as they fell 3-0. Will the Bruins have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
