The Pius X Thunderbolts will challenge the Bennington Badgers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Pius X lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Lincoln North Star, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's contest. The Thunderbolts blew past the Navigators 12-6 on Thursday. The Thunderbolts' offense finally found a way to get into gear: the high-octane performance was a 180-degree turn from their last three games.
Pius X got a great performance from Tanner Charf as he pitched six innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off nine hits.
Kai Vanis
| 04/10/25 @ Lincoln North Star | 2 |
| 03/28/25 @ North Platte | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ Gretna East | 1 |
| 04/29/24 @ Skutt Catholic | 1 |
| 04/25/24 vs Norfolk | 1 |
At the plate, Kai Vanis was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two triples, three runs, and three RBI. Those two triples gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Isaac Minchow, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Pius X always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .513. They are 2-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Bennington strolled into their game on Thursday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They put the hurt on Crete with a sharp 12-6 win. The result was nothing new for the Badgers, who have now won five games by six runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Morgan Schuman, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Mason Buechler was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Bennington's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Pius X, their victory bumped their record up to 5-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pius X has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bennington struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Pius X couldn't quite finish off Bennington when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 10-8. Will the Thunderbolts 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.
