Baseball Game Preview: Smithville Warriors vs. Oak Park Northmen

The Smithville Warriors will head out on the road to square off against the Oak Park Northmen at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Smithville's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Oak Park's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Smithville is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Missouri's top teams: Lee's Summit, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Smithville was ranked ninth). The Warriors walked away with an 8-5 win over the Tigers on Wednesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Warriors.

Meanwhile, Oak Park made easy work of Chrisman on Thursday and carried off a 15-5 victory. That looming 15-5 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Northmen yet this season.

Smithville pushed their record up to 13-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Oak Park, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.

Smithville skirted past Oak Park 4-2 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Warriors since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.