vs
| 04/10/25 - Away | 12-3 W |
| 05/04/24 - Away | 20-4 W |
| 04/11/24 - Home | 5-0 W |
| 04/29/23 - Home | 9-13 L |
| 04/25/23 - Away | 16-0 W |
| + 5 more games |
Central Cass is 8-2 against Oakes since May of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Squirrels will welcome the Tornadoes at 5:00 p.m. Central Cass' pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Oakes' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Central Cass is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of North Dakota's top teams: Kindred, who was ranked 21st at the time (Central Cass was ranked 14th). The Squirrels walked away with a 6-3 victory over the Vikings on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Squirrels.
Meanwhile, while Oakes put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Oak Grove Lutheran. The Tornadoes were the clear victors by a 12-0 margin over the Grovers. With that win, the Tornadoes brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Michael Hoistad was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Oakes let Zade Heier and Tristen Peterson run wild. Heier went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double, while Peterson went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those three RBI gave Heier a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Harry Neustel, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Oakes was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .440. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .348 or higher in three consecutive matches.
Oakes' victory bumped their record up to 3-9. As for Central Cass, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Central Cass took their victory against Oakes when the teams last played on April 10th by a conclusive 12-3 score. Will the Squirrels repeat their success, or do the Tornadoes have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
