Baseball Game Preview: Kenai Central Kardinals vs. North Pole Patriots

The Kenai Central Kardinals will challenge the North Pole Patriots at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Kenai Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.

Kenai Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with an 18-13 victory over Homer. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Kardinals.

Jacob Joanis made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

Logan Mese

Runs (Career)

06/05/25 vs Homer	4
05/24/25 vs Redington	2
05/23/25 vs Palmer	2
05/17/25 vs Grace Christian	2
04/28/25 @ Soldotna	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Logan Mese, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four runs and two RBI. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Steffenson, who went 2-for-5 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.

Kenai Central kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, North Pole faced Palmer in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Patriots blew past the Moose 31-12. The result was nothing new for the Patriots, who have now won four games by seven runs or more so far this season.

North Pole has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 18.8 runs over those games. As for Kenai Central, their record now sits at 12-4.

Kenai Central couldn't quite finish off North Pole in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Kardinals avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.