The Summit Academy Bears will head out on the road to take on the Duchesne Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Last Tuesday, Summit Academy came up short against Judge Memorial Catholic and fell 7-4.
Trace Gedicks made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Cooper Derbidge, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Duchesne had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Braves with a sharp 12-4 win.
Connor Karren made a big impact no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also allowed no hits, which is notable because Duchesne is undefeated when he allows at most one hit, but 6-10 otherwise. Karren was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 1-for-4. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Wyatt Christensen, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two doubles, and one triple. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Thompson, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI.
Duchesne lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Duchesne's record is now 9-10. As for Summit Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Summit Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Duchesne struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Summit Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against Duchesne in their previous meeting back in March, sneaking past 9-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
