The Lincoln East Spartans will face off against the Papillion-LaVista Monarchs at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Lincoln East is coming into the game hot, having won their last nine games.
Lincoln East is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Creighton Prep, who was ranked 18th at the time (Lincoln East was ranked first). The Spartans came out on top against the Junior Jays by a score of 9-4 on Saturday.
Kalai Larsen was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one triple and one run.
In other pitching news, Jack Ohler looked comfortable as he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, Lincoln East let Troy Peltz and Lewis Cockle run wild. Peltz got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI, while Cockle got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs. That's the most runs Cockle has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Brodie McIntire, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Papillion-LaVista hadn't done well against Millard South recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. The Monarchs walked away with an 8-4 win over the Patriots. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Monarchs.
Papillion-LaVista also got a great performance from Brett Hoelscher as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Ryan Thompson and Isaac Pamaran did most of the damage at the plate: Thompson went 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI, while Pamaran went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That home run marked the first that Thompson has launched this season. Dylan Wernli was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Papillion-LaVista's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-11. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Lincoln East, their victory bumped their record up to 29-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lincoln East has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Papillion-LaVista struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Lincoln East beat Papillion-LaVista 6-1 when the teams last played back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
