The Liberty-Benton Eagles will head out to challenge the Northview Wildcats at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Liberty-Benton comes in on 11 and Northview on four.
While Liberty-Benton's victory against Hopewell-Loudon wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Eagles sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over the Chieftains on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Northview made easy work of Ross on Friday and carried off a 9-1 victory. Considering the Wildcats have won six games by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Graham Newnham tossed a big game, pitching six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Northview got a massive performance out of Colin Tomanski, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. The Wildcats are undefeated when Tomanski posts three or more hits, but 6-10 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Conner Draper, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run.
Northview always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ross only posted an OBP of .321.
Liberty-Benton pushed their record up to 18-3 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Northview, the win got them back to even at 10-10.
Liberty-Benton might still be hurting after the 7-0 defeat they got from Northview in their previous matchup back in May of 2024. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
