The Liberty North Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Staley Falcons at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Liberty North 3.6, Staley 2.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Liberty North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Fayetteville, who was ranked third in their home state at the time (Liberty North was ranked eighth). The Eagles were the clear victors by an 11-4 margin over the Bulldogs on Saturday. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won eight games by six runs or more so far this season.
Dathan Curp looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jacob Bell, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Jackson Crossley also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Staley let Blue Springs stack four runs on them in the sixth inning on Friday but luckily Staley prevailed anyway. The Falcons came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 6-4 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game). The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Brody Irlbeck and Krue Patrick made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Irlbeck didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Patrick pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Irlbeck has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Irlbeck went 1-for-3 with one home run, while Patrick went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one double.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brady Nelson, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Staley hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in three consecutive contests.
Staley pushed their record up to 26-3 with the victory, which was their 12th straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Liberty North, the victory snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 14-6 record.
Liberty North came up short against Staley in their previous meeting back in April, falling 5-0. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
