Baseball Game Preview: La Pine Hawks vs. Umpqua Valley Christian Monarchs

The La Pine Hawks will head out to challenge the Umpqua Valley Christian Monarchs at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

La Pine took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They blew past Madras 8-1. The Hawks have beaten the White Buffaloes the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the White Buffaloes has come to flipping the script.

The team relied heavily on Dayton Wilkinson, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Those hits were his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Davey Taylor, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.

La Pine hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Madras struck out seven times.

Meanwhile, Umpqua Valley Christian owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They were the clear victors by an 8-0 margin over Oakridge. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Monarchs.

Umpqua Valley Christian's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-2. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for La Pine, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

La Pine couldn't quite get it done against Umpqua Valley Christian in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 7-2. Can the Hawks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.