The Papillion-LaVista Monarchs will take on the Lincoln East Spartans at 10:00 a.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Papillion-LaVista 4, Lincoln East 2.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Papillion-LaVista is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Millard South, who was ranked second at the time (Papillion-LaVista was ranked 14th). The Monarchs walked away with an 8-4 win over the Patriots on Saturday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Monarchs.
Papillion-LaVista 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. Hoelscher has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
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's the most RBI Thompson has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Wernli, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Lincoln East entered their tilt with Creighton Prep on Saturday with eight consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with nine. They came out on top against the Junior Jays by a score of 9-4.
Kalai Larsen was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Larsen was also solid in the batter's box, 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.
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. Another player making a difference was Brodie McIntire, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Lincoln East pushed their record up to 29-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Papillion-LaVista, their record is now 20-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Papillion-LaVista has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lincoln East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Papillion-LaVista came up short against Lincoln East in their previous matchup back in April, falling 6-1. Can the Monarchs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
