Baseball Game Preview: North Kansas City Hornets vs. Staley Falcons

North Kansas City hasn't had much luck against Staley recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Hornets will be playing at home against the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. North Kansas City has given up an average of 9.2 runs per game this season, but Wednesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

North Kansas City came up short against Central on Friday, falling 13-7. The Hornets have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Staley faced Lee's Summit in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Falcons' pitcher stepped up to hand the Tigers a 5-0 shutout. Winning may never get old, but the Falcons sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

Brody Irlbeck made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alexander Paul, who went 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted over his last 12 matches. Evan Abbott was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Staley's win was their 14th straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 29-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.6 runs over those games. As for North Kansas City, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-22.

North Kansas City suffered a grim 24-10 defeat to Staley when the teams last played back in April of 2021. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.