Culver Academies is 0-6 against New Prairie since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Culver Academies Eagles will be staying on the road to face off against the New Prairie Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Culver Academies is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They walked away with a 7-3 win over Glenn.
Ty Rakan and Max Grundberg were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Rakan struck out six batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Grundberg tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. At bat, Rakan scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Grundberg went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Preston Jessen, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Foster Stockton was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
Meanwhile, New Prairie waltzed into their game on Saturday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They had just enough and edged the Trojans out 12-11. New Prairie's victory was all the more impressive since Chesterton was averaging only 2.6 runs allowed on the season.
The team relied heavily on Brody Traxler, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Sullivan Kress, who scored two runs and stole a base.
Culver Academies' win bumped their record up to 16-6. As for New Prairie, they pushed their record up to 21-5 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Thursday's contest might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Culver Academies has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .486. However, it's not like New Prairie struggles in that department as they've averaged .458. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Culver Academies might still be hurting after the 11-1 loss they got from New Prairie when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of New Prairie's Matt Sorce, who didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Now that Culver Academies knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
