The St. Francis Fighting Saints will challenge the Orono Spartans at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (St. Francis 2, Orono 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. Francis managed to slip by Monticello the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Fighting Saints lost 9-3 to the Magic on Tuesday. The loss was the Fighting Saints' first of the season.
Owen Lamson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. Cooper Fiskewold was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Orono, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Roosevelt a 7-0 shutout on Monday. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Dane Kanwischer looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Keegan Flansburg, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Chaz Brookins, who went 1-for-2 with one triple and one run.
Orono pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for St. Francis, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Francis has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Orono struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
