The Lowell Red Devils will face off against the Valparaiso Vikings at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lowell took a nine-run defeat the last time they faced off against Hanover Central, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Red Devils won by a run and slipped past the Wildcats 5-4.
Olivia Fuentes
| 04/17/25 @ Hanover Central | 9 |
| 04/16/25 vs Munster | 7 |
| 04/14/25 vs Highland | 13 |
Olivia Fuentes spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Lowell saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isobella Vaught, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one run. Madison Evancho also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Valparaiso). Everything went their way against Knox on Friday as they made off with an 18-10 victory. Winning may never get old, but the Vikings sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Delilah Kincaid and Ariyana Bishop did most of the damage at the plate: Kincaid went 1-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Bishop went 1-for-4 with one home run and three runs. Those three runs gave Bishop a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Shultz, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double.
Valparaiso kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.6 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 11.8.
Valparaiso pushed their record up to 5-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Lowell, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Lowell hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Valparaiso struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Lowell took their victory against Valparaiso when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 15-1 score. Will the Red Devils repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
