Baseball Game Preview: Hammond Central Wolves vs. Valparaiso Vikings

The Hammond Central Wolves will face off against the Valparaiso Vikings at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Hammond Central has struggled recently with five losses in a row, while Valparaiso will arrive with seven straight victories.

Hammond Central lost 16-3 to River Forest on Friday.

Hammond Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Joshua Flores, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs and one double. That double marked the first that Flores has hit this season.

Meanwhile, Valparaiso's rock-solid pitchers showed up for the team's fourth consecutive shutout on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Boone Grove a 1-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Vikings have posted since April 19th.

Valparaiso's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-5. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.2 runs on average over those games. As for Hammond Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-13-1.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Hammond Central has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.