vs
| 03/29/24 - Away | 6-5 W |
| 05/04/23 - Away | 5-4 W |
| 03/20/23 - Home | 0-2 L |
| 04/15/22 - Away | 4-0 W |
| 03/22/19 - Home | 11-10 W |
| + 5 more games |
Ballard is 9-1 against Chief Sealth since March of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Beavers will be playing at home against the Seahawks at 4:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Ballard's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Seattle Academy as they made off with a 6-0 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Beavers.
Ballard saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Truitt Madonna, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run. Bennett Klein also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Meanwhile, Chief Sealth entered their tilt with Rainier Beach on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They put the hurt on the Vikings with a sharp 14-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Seahawks, who have now won ten matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Sam Popelka looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Nolan Vanbuskirk was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, three RBI, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Teo Perala, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and one double.
Chief Sealth was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .722. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Ballard pushed their record up to 14-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Chief Sealth, their win bumped their record up to 13-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ballard has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Chief Sealth struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ballard skirted past Chief Sealth 6-5 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Do the Beavers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Seahawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
