The Millard North Mustangs will face off against the Omaha Westside Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Millard North will be strutting in after a victory while Omaha Westside will be coming in after a loss.
Millard North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Westview, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Millard North was ranked seventh). The Mustangs' pitchers stepped up to hand the Wolverines a 10-0 shutout on Monday. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by seven runs or more this season.
Wade Spencer tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ripken Fleck, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and one double. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Clayton Mathiason, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Millard North always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Westview only posted an OBP of .227.
Meanwhile, Omaha Westside was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 17-4 to Millard South. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Warriors have suffered since April 10th.
Omaha Westside saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Burke Brown, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run and one double. Andrew Tagge was another, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one run and one RBI.
The win made it two in a row for Millard North and bumps their season record up to 14-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 0 runs in those games. As for Omaha Westside, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Millard North has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Omaha Westside struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Millard North was able to grind out a solid win over Omaha Westside in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 6-2. Do the Mustangs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Warriors turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
