The Valparaiso Vikings will square off against the La Porte Slicers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Valparaiso is coming into the match hot, having won their last eight games.
Valparaiso is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Hammond Central get on the board and left with a 21-0 victory on Saturday. Give the Vikings' pitching crew some credit: that's the team's fifth straight shutout.
Matthew Civanich was a standout: he went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most runs he has posted over his last 12 contests. The team also got some help courtesy of Drayden Wilcox, who went 1-for-2 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Valparaiso always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .596. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hammond Central only posted an OBP of .176.
Meanwhile, La Porte suffered their closest defeat since April 5th on Friday. They fell just short of South Bend Adams by a score of 15-13.
Gage Raymond made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 4-for-5 with two triples, one run, and one RBI. La Porte is 2-1 when Raymond posts three or more hits, but 7-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Reed Raymond, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
Valparaiso pushed their record up to 14-5 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for La Porte, their loss dropped their record down to 9-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Valparaiso has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like La Porte struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Valparaiso skirted past La Porte 3-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Slicers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
