The Northwest Vikings will square off against the Gretna East Griffins at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Northwest is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
Northwest is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Crete, sneaking past 8-7.
The team relied heavily on Abby Dinkelman, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances while logging 1 stolen base, 1 run, and 3 walks. The game also marked her 15th in a row with at least one hit.
Northwest kept the fielders on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They have not posted that many hits since September 19th, when they had 14 vs. Aurora.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gretna East). Everything went their way against Beatrice on Wednesday as they made off with an 18-9 victory. Considering the Griffins have won 17 matchups by more than five runs this season, another big win was nothing new.
Brynlea Beyer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out 10 batters over 5 innings while giving up 3 earned (and two unearned) runs off 7 hits (and only one walk). The game also marked her fourth in a row with at least two RBIs. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 while posting 1 home run, 4 RBIs, and 1 double. The game marked her third in a row with at least one home run.
In other pitching news, Gretna East also got a great performance from Beyer as she struck out 10 batters over 5 innings while giving up 3 earned (and two unearned) runs off 7 hits (and only one walk). The game marked Beyer's fourth in a row with at least two RBIs.
Back at the plate, Beyer was incredible, striking out 10 batters over 5 innings while giving up 3 earned (and two unearned) runs off 7 hits (and only one walk). The game marked her fourth in a row with at least two RBIs. Another player making a difference was Amanda Weis, who went 4-for-5 while logging 1 home run, 2 doubles, and 3 RBIs.