Arvada West is 0-6 against Valor Christian since May of 2019 but things could change on Thursday. The Wildcats will challenge the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Arvada West sitting on ten straight wins and Valor Christian on four.
Arvada West will bounce into Thursday's match after beating Ralston Valley, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Wildcats walked away with an 8-5 victory over the Mustangs on Saturday.
Beau Friesen and Brayden Reiner were major factors while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Friesen pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Reiner struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March. At the plate, Friesen went 2-for-4 with two runs and one double, while Reiner went 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Keegan Millikan
| 05/03/25 @ Ralston Valley | 4 |
| 04/23/25 vs Northfield | 3 |
| 03/31/25 @ Mountain Vista | 2 |
| 03/26/25 @ Vista PEAK Prep | 2 |
| 05/02/25 vs Columbine | 1 |
In other batting news, Keegan Millikan was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Luke Alonso, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Arvada West kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in seven consecutive contests.
Valor Christian came out on top against Lakewood on Wednesday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run first inning. The Eagles blew past the Tigers 12-2.
Owen Schermerhorn looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Valor Christian: the team is undefeated when he allows at most one hit, but 8-10 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ryan Amerman, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and three runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Trystan Chadwick, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Valor Christian pushed their record up to 11-10 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Arvada West, their record is now 17-2-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Arvada West hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Valor Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Arvada West couldn't quite finish off Valor Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Wildcats avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
