For the second straight game, Portage will face off against Valparaiso. The Indians will head out to challenge the Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Portage is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.1 runs per game this season.
Portage's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Valparaiso hitters got past them. The Indians lost 11-0 to the Vikings on Tuesday. The game marked the first time this year in which the Indians were not able to get on the board.
For Valparaiso's part, Caden Crowell made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 12 over five innings pitched. Crowell has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Valparaiso: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-4 otherwise.
In other batting news, Valparaiso got a massive performance out of Trent Gill, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. That's the most RBI Gill has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant McFarden, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Valparaiso always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .611. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive matchups.
The win got Valparaiso back to even at 4-4. As for Portage, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 8-1-1.
Valparaiso's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Portage hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .380. It's a different story for Valparaiso, though, as they've only averaged .244. Will they be able to contain Portage's hitters? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
