The Christian Liberty Chargers will venture away from home to challenge the Hiawatha Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Christian Liberty comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Christian Liberty came up short against Westminster Christian on Thursday, falling 16-2.
Christian Liberty saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ricky Hartian, who went 1-for-2 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Hiawatha never got on the board in their matchup last Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Alden-Hebron last Saturday. They put the hurt on the Green Giants with a sharp 15-0 victory. Considering the Hawks' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Thomas Giebel made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Hiawatha is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 3-6 otherwise. Giebel was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Hiawatha got a massive performance out of Logan Brush, who went 1-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those four RBI gave Brush a new career-high. Bentley Payne was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Hiawatha always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .607. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
The win snapped Hiawatha's losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 5-7 record. As for Christian Liberty, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.
Christian Liberty came up short against Hiawatha in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, falling 16-12. Can the Chargers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
