The Wood River Wolverines will challenge the Minico Spartans at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Wood River will be strutting in after a win while Minico will be coming in after a defeat.
Wood River took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Skyview 10-9. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Wolverines have posted since May 4, 2024.
Makinzie Nelson
| 04/11/25 vs Skyview | 2 |
| 04/08/25 @ Burley | 1 |
| 04/08/25 @ Burley | 1 |
| 04/05/25 vs Sugar-Salem | 2 |
Makinzie Nelson made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up six earned (and three unearned) runs off nine hits. Nelson was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs and three RBI while going 4-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one home run the last four times she's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paityn Nelson, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Hadley Elsbree, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4.
Wood River kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 17 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Minico was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their 14th straight loss. They came up short against Burley, falling 13-3.
Minico saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nye Salinas, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Madi Fowler was another, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
The win was their first at home , bumping their record up to 3-9. As for Minico, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-14.
Minico's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Thursday. Wood River has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Minico, though, as they've been averaging only 3.8 strikeouts. Will Wood River keep running through batters, or will the Spartans buck the trend?
Everything went Wood River's way against Minico in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Wood River made off with a 15-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wolverines since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
