The Valparaiso Vikings will head out on the road to take on the Andrean Fighting 59ers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Valparaiso is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
Last Wednesday, it was a hard-fought match, but Valparaiso had to settle for a 7-5 loss against Chesterton. That's two games in a row now that Valparaiso has lost by exactly two runs.
Maddie Horka and Ariyana Bishop stepped up to the plate in a big way. Horka went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, while Bishop scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Andrean was able to grind out a solid win over Highland on Monday, taking the game 7-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Andrean.
Sadie Drousias was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. Drousias was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Andrean let Aubrey Grasha and Maggie Voliva loose on the outfield. Grasha went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Voliva scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. Grasha has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Libby Voliva, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
This is the second loss in a row for Valparaiso and nudges their season record down to 10-10. As for Andrean, their victory bumped their record up to 15-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Valparaiso hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Andrean struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Valparaiso might still be hurting after the 16-5 defeat they got from Andrean when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Can Valparaiso avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
