The Luther Prep Phoenix will head out on the road to square off against the Stoughton Vikings at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Luther Prep easily dispatched St. Francis on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Phoenix fell just short of St. John's Northwestern Military Academy by a score of 4-2 on Thursday. Having soared to a lofty 20 runs in the game before, the Phoenix couldn't push the score so high this time.
Luther Prep saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dan Taylor, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. JT Candler also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Stoughton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with an 8-4 win over McFarland on Friday. With that victory, the Vikings brought their scoring average up to 6.1 runs per game.
Saxton Wiest made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off nine hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and one triple.
In other batting news, Oliver Pietruszynski was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
The win snapped Stoughton's losing streak at four games and leaves them with a 5-12 record. As for Luther Prep, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Saturday as neither team is afraid to steal. Luther Prep has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Stoughton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
