The Independence Blue Devils will face off against the Lutheran West Longhorns at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
On Tuesday, Independence made easy work of Fairview and carried off an 8-1 victory. Considering the Blue Devils have won six matchups by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Anthony Sobonya
| 04/28/26 @ Fairview | 9 |
| 04/17/26 vs Western Reserve Academy | 5 |
| 04/28/25 vs Lutheran West | 3 |
| 04/14/26 vs Cuyahoga Heights | 2 |
| 04/30/25 vs Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy | 2 |
Anthony Sobonya made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nolan Ghann, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Anderson Jolliffe was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lutheran West). They blew past Harvey 16-6 on Tuesday. With that win, the Longhorns brought their scoring average up to 6.4 runs per game.
Victor Rodriguez was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with six stolen bases, four runs, and three RBI. He continues to improve, besting his previous run total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Max Resar, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs.
Lutheran West hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in four consecutive games.
The victory made it two in a row for Independence and bumps their season record up to 9-3. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 1 runs in those games. As for Lutheran West, their victory bumped their record up to 5-8-1.
Lutheran West's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Independence hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .313. It's a different story for Lutheran West, though, as they've only averaged .248. Will they be able to contain Independence's hitters?
Independence came out on top in a nail-biter against Lutheran West in their previous matchup back in April of 2025, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Longhorns have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
