The Fairbury Jeffs will square off against the Falls City Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Fairbury will be strutting in after a win while Falls City will be coming in after a loss.
Having struggled with eight defeats in a row, Fairbury turned things around against Centennial on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out the Broncos 11-10. The Jeffs' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jacob Nippert was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over 4.2 innings pitched. Nippert was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Fairbury let Dakotah Neumiller and CJ Goeking run wild. Neumiller scored a run and stole three bases while going 4-for-5, while Goeking went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and one run. Those four hits gave Neumiller a new career-high. Grady Chappell was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Fairbury was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Falls City came up short against Auburn on Tuesday, falling 10-3. The Tigers haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.
Orion Cattrell was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Blakley Sells, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Fairbury's victory bumped their record up to 2-8. As for Falls City, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.
Fairbury beat Falls City 6-3 when the teams last played back in March. Will the Jeffs repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
