The Shelton Highclimbers will hit the road for the first time this season to take on the La Center Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Shelton barely beat Elma the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Shelton blew past Elma 9-2 on Tuesday. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Highclimbers as it put an end to their five-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Gunnar Jensen made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Jensen was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Zaine Harding was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing Three bases. while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Zaine Scott, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, La Center put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against Seton Catholic.
La Center also got a great performance from Austin Aseph as he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Justin Fuller, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
La Center's victory was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.9 runs over those games. As for Shelton, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
La Center's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Shelton has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for La Center, though, as they've been averaging only 4 strikeouts. Will Shelton keep running through batters, or will La Center buck the trend? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
