The Hopkins Vikings will head out to face off against the Vicksburg Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopkins is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.
Hopkins' pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Kelloggsville with a sharp 15-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won three contests by 15 runs or more so far this season.
Trent Smith made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Smith was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
In other batting news, Cody Benting and Kellen Ford did most of the damage at the plate: Benting went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one double, while Ford went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Merek Zapolnik was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Hopkins was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .450. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .355 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Vicksburg came up short against Three Rivers on Wednesday and fell 6-2. That's two games in a row now that the Bulldogs have lost by exactly four runs.
Brady Young was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
At the plate, Vicksburg saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mitch Beyer, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double. That run was Beyer's first of the season.
This is the second loss in a row for Vicksburg and nudges their season record down to 0-4-1. As for Hopkins, their record is now 4-1.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Hopkins has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9 hits per game. However, it's not like Vicksburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.8 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
