It'll be a Battle of the Birds when Skyview Hawks duke it out with Vallivue Falcons at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Skyview 3.3, Vallivue 4.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Skyview's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Wednesday's struggle, when Bishop Kelly hitters got past them. The Hawks came up short against the Knights on Wednesday, falling 10-4. The Hawks' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Mason Krahn made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Tyler Russell, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Vallivue strolled into their game on Wednesday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They blew past Emmett 20-3. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by seven runs or more this season.
Eli Daniel made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off three home runs and nine RBI while going 4-for-4.
In other batting news, Jayden Cagel was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Cooper Crutcher was another key player, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one home run and two RBI.
Vallivue kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in seven consecutive matchups.
Vallivue's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-0. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Skyview, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 7-3-1.
Skyview was able to grind out a solid win over Vallivue in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 9-6. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Falcons turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
