The North Pole Patriots will challenge the Kenai Central Kardinals at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
North Pole is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They put the hurt on Palmer with a sharp 31-12 win. The Patriots' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Meanwhile, Kenai Central faced Homer in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Kardinals came out on top against the Mariners by a score of 18-13. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Kardinals.
Jacob Joanis made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Logan Mese was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with four runs and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high. Daniel Steffenson was another key player, going 2-for-5 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Kenai Central was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Homer only posted a batting average of .310.
North Pole is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 18.8 runs over those games. As for Kenai Central, their win bumped their record up to 12-4.
North Pole came out on top in a nail-biter against Kenai Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-2. Do the Patriots have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Kardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
