The Blaine Bengals will face off against the Anoka Tornadoes at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Anoka took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Blaine, who comes in off a win.
Blaine is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 14-3 margin over Coon Rapids on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Bengals with their most commanding win of the season.
Coon Rapids' batters probably weren't too happy with Paige Dahlman, who pitched a no hitter (she gave up zero walks). Dahlman has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Emily Vogel was incredible, firing off two home runs, four runs, and five RBI while going 4-for-5. That's the most hits she has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Alyssa Schlomann, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Vogel wasn't the only one making solid contact: Blaine kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Anoka fell victim to Spring Lake Park and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 1-0. The game snapped a strange streak: the last five times these teams have met, it?s been the away team that?s taken home the W.
Anoka's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 6-2. As for Blaine, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Blaine hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Anoka struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Blaine's way against Anoka in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Blaine made off with an 18-2 victory. Will the Bengals repeat their success, or do the Tornadoes have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
