The Eagle River Wolves will face off against the Bettye Davis East Anchorage Thunderbirds at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Eagle River will be strutting in after a victory while Bettye Davis East Anchorage will be coming in after a defeat.
Eagle River is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Chugiak, who was ranked 11th at the time (Eagle River was ranked fourth). The Wolves were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over the Mustangs on Wednesday. The result was nothing new for the Wolves, who have now won five contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Dallin Roberts and Jack Mullen did most of the damage at the plate: Roberts went 2-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base, while Mullen went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run. That's the most hits Roberts has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Mullen, who went 1-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Eagle River was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Chugiak only posted a batting average of .083.
Meanwhile, Bettye Davis East Anchorage was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 6-5 heartbreaker at the hands of Dimond.
Dylan Dumas was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Wally Sherwood was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Yeralvin Ramirez was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.
Eagle River has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Bettye Davis East Anchorage, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Eagle River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bettye Davis East Anchorage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Eagle River beat Bettye Davis East Anchorage 5-2 when the teams last played back in April. Do the Wolves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Thunderbirds turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
