Elkhorn North will head out on the road to square off against the Beatrice Orangemen at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Elkhorn North barely beat Roncalli Catholic the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Elkhorn North never let Roncalli Catholic get on the board and left with a 12-0 victory on Tuesday. Considering Elkhorn North's hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Jack Settles
| 04/01/25 @ Roncalli Catholic | 4 |
| 04/01/24 vs Millard South | 2 |
| 03/28/24 vs Beatrice | 2 |
| 03/21/25 @ Standing Bear | 1 |
Jack Settles looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
On the hitting side, Flynn Fickbohm was a standout: he scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1. Charlie Riesselman also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Elkhorn North was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Roncalli Catholic only posted a batting average of .200.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Beatrice). They put the hurt on Fairbury with a sharp 17-4 win on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Orangemen in their matchups with the Jeffs: they've now won four in a row.
Beatrice got a massive performance out of Austin Baldwin, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The Orangemen are undefeated when Baldwin posts two or more runs, but 1-4 otherwise. Ty Weichel was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Elkhorn North's win was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for Beatrice, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Elkhorn North has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Beatrice struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Elkhorn North might still be hurting after the 7-0 loss they got from Beatrice in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Can Elkhorn North avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
