The Burlington Wildcats will challenge the Mission Valley Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Mission Valley will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Burlington extended their winning streak to five on Tuesday. The Wildcats were the clear victors by a 15-5 margin over Wellsville.
Grace Birk made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Hannah Sides
| 04/08/25 vs Wellsville | 4 |
| 05/07/24 @ Mission Valley | 3 |
| 04/23/24 @ Osawatomie | 2 |
| 04/18/24 @ Olpe | 2 |
| 04/11/24 vs Humboldt | 2 |
In other batting news, Hannah Sides was incredible, scoring four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Carlee Cole was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Burlington hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wellsville struck out eight times.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mission Valley). Everything went their way against Marais des Cygnes Valley on Monday as they made off with a 19-5 victory. The win was familiar territory for the Vikings, who have now won four contests in a row.
Keely Chesmore tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Kailynn Jacobson was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddie Kraus, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4.
Mission Valley pushed their record up to 6-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Burlington, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Burlington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mission Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Burlington took their win against Mission Valley when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 13-0 score. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
