Valley hasn't had much luck against Strasburg recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Valley Vikings will welcome the Strasburg Indians at 4:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Valley headed into their last matchup having not scored more than two runs for three straight, but Platte Valley let them put that streak behind them. Everything went Valley's way against Platte Valley on Tuesday as Valley made off with a 16-1 victory. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Vikings' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Sophia Rodriguez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Rodriguez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Ava Kamphaus and Alivia Lawing did most of the damage at the plate: Kamphaus went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and two runs, while Lawing went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Jasmin Gonzalez, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Valley always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Platte Valley only posted an OBP of .308.
Meanwhile, Strasburg had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it eight on Monday. They blew past the Badgers 15-2.
Anna Vetter spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on two hits and racked up eight Ks. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in September of 2023.
At the plate, Strasburg got a massive performance out of Savanah Bradley, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with five RBI and a double. The team also got some help courtesy of Addi Kent, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Valley now has a winning record of 9-8. As for Strasburg, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-4.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. Valley hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of 0. However, it's not like Strasburg struggles in that department as they've averaged 0. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Valley suffered a grim 19-2 defeat to Strasburg when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can Valley 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
