Baseball Game Preview: Itasca Wampus Cats vs. Frost Polar Bears

Itasca is 9-1 against Frost since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. Itasca will take on Frost at 7:00 p.m. Itasca knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with ten runs or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Frost likes a good challenge.

Itasca barely beat Italy the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Itasca put the hurt on Italy with a sharp 15-2 victory on Tuesday. The Wampus Cats haven't had any issues with the Gladiators recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Dawson Mears

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/25/25 @ Italy	3
03/05/25 vs Bruceville-Eddy	2
03/01/25 vs Hillsboro	2
02/27/25 vs Hubbard	2
03/21/25 vs Italy	1

Buddy Jackson and Dawson Mears made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Jackson pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Mears pitched 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Jackson scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Mears scored two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Mears a new career-high in RBI (three).

In other batting news, Brayden Mears was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-5. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jacob Gurrusquieta, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.

Itasca always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .568. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .513 or higher in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Frost lost 14-4 to Meridian on Friday. The game marked the Polar Bears' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Itasca's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-2. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.4 runs over those games. As for Frost, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1-1.

Everything went Itasca's way against Frost in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Itasca made off with an 18-4 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Itasca since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.