The Gretna Dragons will be playing in front of their home fans against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Gretna has three straight victories, Bellevue West has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Wednesday, Gretna got themselves on the board against Omaha Northwest, but Omaha Northwest never followed suit. They blew past the Huskies 13-0. That looming 13-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Gretna yet this season.
Kalvin Janssen made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Janssen was also big at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
In other pitching news, Keagan Burns looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
Back at the plate, Gretna let Hayden Parrish and Hudson Epp loose on the outfield. Parrish went 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Epp went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Bryce Lakers, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Bellevue West faced Skutt Catholic in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Bellevue West fell just short of Skutt Catholic by a score of 4-3.
Bellevue West saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nick Glantz, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Gretna's win bumped their record up to 5-9. As for Bellevue West, their loss dropped their record down to 11-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gretna has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Bellevue West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Gretna skirted past Bellevue West 2-1 in their previous meeting back in March of 2023. Does Gretna have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bellevue West turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
