The Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks will head out to square off against the Papillion-LaVista South Titans at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Wednesday, Lincoln Southwest didn't have quite enough to beat Millard South and fell 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Silver Hawks have suffered against the Patriots since April 22, 2022.
Lincoln Southwest got a good showing from Kaden Millard, who tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Alex Vokoun was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run. Caison Seymore was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Lincoln Southwest hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, on Thursday Papillion-LaVista South's undefeated season almost came to an end. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 2-1 W against Omaha Westside. The two-run effort marked the Titans' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
The team relied heavily on Emmett Minderman, who went 2-for-3 with one home run. Michael Jellen also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Having lost for the first time this season, Lincoln Southwest fell to 2-1. As for Papillion-LaVista South, they pushed their record up to 5-0 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Lincoln Southwest hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Papillion-LaVista South struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Lincoln Southwest was able to grind out a solid win over Papillion-LaVista South when the teams last played back in March of 2024, winning 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lincoln Southwest since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
