The South Anchorage Wolverines will face off against the Service Cougars at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (South Anchorage 3.8, Service 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
South Anchorage is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Chugiak, who was ranked 15th at the time (South Anchorage was ranked second). The Wolverines lost 13-3 to the Mustangs on Saturday. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Wolverines, who until this game were averaging 3.75 runs allowed.
South Anchorage saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chase Dixon, who went 1-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Service strolled into their game on Saturday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They never let Bettye Davis East Anchorage get on the board and left with a 10-0 victory. The Cougars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by six runs or more this season.
Kegan Lennox made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gideon Lesslie, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Braun Precosky, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one double.
Service pushed their record up to 13-0 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for South Anchorage, their defeat ended an 11-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 14-2.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. South Anchorage has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Service struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
South Anchorage might still be hurting after the 17-9 loss they got from Service when the teams last played on Wednesday. Can the Wolverines avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
