The Bellevue West Thunderbirds will challenge the Elkhorn South Storm at 12:30 p.m. on Monday. Bellevue West is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road.
Bellevue West heads in on the heels of a playoff contest on Friday. They fell 8-4 to Creighton Prep.
Bellevue West saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Drew Grego, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Grego has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Ty Smolinski was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Even though they lost, Bellevue West didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with seven strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Creighton Prep only tossed three.
Meanwhile, Elkhorn South faced Millard West in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Elkhorn South fell just short of Millard West by a score of 2-1. Elkhorn South's defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Tanner Foertsch was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits.
Bellevue West's record now sits at 27-7. As for Elkhorn South, their record now sits at 17-14.
Elkhorn South's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Bellevue West hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .340. It's a different story for Elkhorn South, though, as they've only averaged .252. Will they be able to contain Bellevue West's hitters?
Bellevue West skirted past Elkhorn South 2-1 in their previous meeting back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Foertsch, who struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Bellevue West still be able to contain Foertsch? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
