Baseball Game Preview: Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds vs. Springfield Tigers

Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop hasn't had much luck against Springfield recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Thunderbirds are taking a road trip to challenge the Tigers at 5:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Tuesday, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop got the win against Renville County West by a conclusive 13-3. The Thunderbirds haven't had any issues with the Jaguars recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

Kaden Rieke and Layton Uecker-Hamre made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Rieke tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Uecker-Hamre struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. At bat, Rieke scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4, while Uecker-Hamre scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.

Luke Bastian

Runs (Career)

04/08/25 vs Renville County West	3
05/16/24 @ Sibley East	1
05/13/24 @ Renville County West	1
05/07/24 @ Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart	1
04/23/24 @ Lester Prairie	1

In other batting news, Luke Bastian was excellent, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was William Bastian, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Springfield put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They came out on top against St. Mary's by a score of 10-7.

Springfield got a massive performance out of Brecken Heiling, who scored two runs and stole five bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Kadyn Anderson, who scored two runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-3.

Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop might still be hurting after the 6-0 defeat they got from Springfield in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Thunderbirds avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.