The Hanover Central Wildcats will challenge the Valparaiso Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Hanover Central sitting on five straight victories and Valparaiso on 11.
Hanover Central's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They came out on top against Morgan Township by a score of 4-0.
Matt Cook
| 04/17/25 vs Providence Catholic | 2 |
| 04/22/25 @ Highland | 2 |
| 04/26/25 @ St. Laurence | 2 |
| 04/10/25 @ Chicago Mt. Carmel | 4 |
| 05/06/25 @ Munster | 5 |
Morgan Township's batters probably weren't too happy with Matt Cook, who pitched a no hitter and racked up seven Ks (he gave up zero walks). Those seven strikeouts set a new season-high mark for Cook.
At the plate, Dylan Bowen was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, one triple, and two RBI. Jaylen Rutherford also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triples of the season.
Meanwhile, Valparaiso sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 win over La Porte on Wednesday.
The team relied heavily on Adler Holtz, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted over his last ten contests. The team also got some help courtesy of Trent Gill, who got on base in two of his three plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Valparaiso's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Hanover Central, their victory bumped their record up to 16-4.
Thursday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Hanover Central has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .500. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've averaged .449. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Hanover Central beat Valparaiso 5-2 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
