Nichols hasn't had much luck against St. Francis recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Vikings will look to defend their home field against the Red Raiders at 4:30 p.m. Nichols will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
While Nichols didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-13), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Amherst Central with a sharp 8-1 victory on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won four matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.
Cody Kipler
| 04/22/25 @ Amherst Central | 3 |
| 04/14/25 vs Jamestown | 2 |
| 05/13/24 @ Bishop Timon-St. Jude | 1 |
| 05/04/24 @ St. Francis | 1 |
| 04/26/24 @ St. Mary's | 1 |
Cody Kipler looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
On the hitting side, Nichols' win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Drury Schmidt, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI. Ross Yoshida was another, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Meanwhile, St. Francis came up short against Frontier on Tuesday and fell 9-6. The Red Raiders have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Will Hanson made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Another player making a difference was Blake Stepniak, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
St. Francis' defeat dropped their record down to 0-6-1. As for Nichols, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
St. Francis' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Nichols has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .433. It's a different story for St. Francis, though, as they've only averaged .323. Will they be able to contain Nichols' hitters?
Nichols might still be hurting after the 10-2 loss they got from St. Francis in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Vikings have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
