The Polson Pirates will take on the Bigfork Vikings & Valkyries at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Polson's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 25-0 margin over Browning. With that win, the Pirates brought their scoring average up to 9.8 runs per game.
Landon Pablo was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Pablo was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. Those runs marked the first that he has scored this season.
In other batting news, Polson got a massive performance out of Wyatt Wadsworth, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, five runs, and one RBI. Those stolen bases were Wadsworth's first of the season. Another player making a difference was Landon Shoemake, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
Polson hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Browning struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Bigfork faced Ronan in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Vikings & Valkyries put the hurt on the Chiefs with a sharp 11-5 victory. Considering the Vikings & Valkyries have won four contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Grady Campbell and Hayden Mayer made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Campbell pitched four innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Mayer tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. At bat, Campbell went 1-for-5 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double, while Mayer went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Mayer has become a key player for Bigfork: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 2-3 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Liam Benson, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Bigfork's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't). Cavin Wiest was another key player, getting on base in two of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Polson pushed their record up to 2-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average this season. As for Bigfork, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record up to 5-3.
Bigfork's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Polson hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .318. It's a different story for Bigfork, though, as they've only averaged .256. Will they be able to contain Polson's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
