The Sutter Huskies will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Valley Christian Lions at 4:00 p.m. Sutter will be looking to keep their 15-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
On Thursday, Sutter narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Colfax 5-4.
The team relied heavily on Ezra Hilleary, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Brady Wickum was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a double.
Meanwhile, Valley Christian was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They lost 12-3 to Leroy Greene Academy.
Nathan Erickson put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 11 batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Erickson has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Erickson was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Nick Befort made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two RBI and a double.
Even though they lost, Valley Christian didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Leroy Greene Academy only tossed nine.
Sutter has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 matchups, which somehow isn't as good as their 20-6-1 record this season. As for Valley Christian, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sutter has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Sutter's way against Valley Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2023 as Sutter made off with a 10-0 victory. Will Sutter repeat their success, or does Valley Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
