The Central City/Centura Kernels will challenge the Holdrege Dusters at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Central City/Centura made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Hastings, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Kernels put the hurt on the Tigers with a sharp 10-2 victory on Tuesday. That's two games straight that the Kernels have won by exactly eight runs.
Jakob Ruhl was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over six innings pitched. Ruhl was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one triple.
In other batting news, Mason Gorecki was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Hayden Murphy, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Central City/Centura hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hastings struck out six times.
Meanwhile, Holdrege had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. Everything went their way against Fairbury on Thursday as they made off with a 7-1 win.
Lyndon Rodewald spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Chance Bailey, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Kegan Steinke, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Central City/Centura has started the season off flawlessly and has a 2-0 record to show for it. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 9.0 runs this season. As for Holdrege, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
