Baseball Preview: Hardin Northern Polar Bears vs. Riverdale Falcons
The Hardin Northern Polar Bears will head out on the road to square off against the Riverdale Falcons at 5:15 p.m. on Monday. Hardin Northern will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.
If Hardin Northern beats Riverdale with three runs on Monday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Hardin Northern sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over Spencerville on Saturday. That's two games straight that Hardin Northern has won by just one run.
Xander Wilson spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in eight consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Landon Wetherill was excellent, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Bo Bame, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Riverdale, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They had just enough and edged Kenton out 4-3.
Riverdale saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lex Weber, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Hardin Northern has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season. As for Riverdale, their win bumped their record up to 17-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hardin Northern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Riverdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hardin Northern was able to grind out a solid victory over Riverdale in their previous matchup back in April of 2022, winning 8-4. Will Hardin Northern repeat their success, or does Riverdale have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
