The Harvest Christian Academy Lions will head out to square off against the Hiawatha Hawks at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Harvest Christian Academy will be strutting in after a win while Hiawatha will be coming in after a defeat.
Harvest Christian Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 26-1 margin over Walther Christian Academy on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Lions considering their two-run performance the game before.
Ryan St. Louis
| 04/22/25 vs Alden-Hebron | 3 |
| 05/06/25 vs Walther Christian Academy | 2 |
| 04/24/25 @ Alden-Hebron | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Westminster Christian | 2 |
| 04/15/25 vs Westminster Christian | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
Ryan St. Louis and Carter Goetz made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, St. Louis struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Goetz tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. St. Louis has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, St. Louis got on base in both of his plate appearances with two runs and one RBI, while Goetz got on base in both of his plate appearances with two RBI and one run. St. Louis is becoming a predictor of Harvest Christian Academy's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 8-9 when he doesn't).
In other batting news, Harvest Christian Academy got a massive performance out of Jameson Rapinchuk, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with five RBI, one run, and one double. Those five RBI gave Rapinchuk a new career-high. Manny Gomez was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, one double, and one RBI.
Harvest Christian Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Hiawatha was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They lost 13-5 to Earlville. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Hawks have suffered against the Red Raiders since May 17, 2021.
Hiawatha saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Colby Wylde, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Harvest Christian Academy has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Hiawatha, their loss dropped their record down to 6-11.
Harvest Christian Academy suffered a grim 13-6 defeat to Hiawatha in their previous meeting back in May of 2015. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
