The Waconia Wildcats will square off against the Orono Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Waconia proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by ten) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out Jefferson 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Wildcats have posted since May 22, 2024.
Meanwhile, Orono had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Hawks a 7-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Spartans, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Chaz Brookins, who went 3-for-4 with six RBI and two doubles. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gavin McGuirk, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.
Orono always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Orono's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Waconia, their victory bumped their record up to 3-7.
Waconia beat Orono 9-4 in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
