The Valparaiso Vikings will take on the New Prairie Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Valparaiso: they have been struggling with six straight losses at home, while New Prairie has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.
On Wednesday, Valparaiso didn't have quite enough to beat Portage and fell 10-9.
Ariyana Bishop and Delilah Kincaid stepped up to the plate in a big way. Bishop went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Kincaid went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Another player making a difference was Elizabeth Kosek, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but New Prairie ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past South Bend Riley 5-3. The victory continues a trend for the Cougars in their matchups with the Wildcats: they've now won nine in a row.
Ava Geyer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 20 batters over ten innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in May of 2024. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one double.
Geyer wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Addi Luther, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run.
New Prairie's win bumped their record up to 13-5. As for Valparaiso, their loss dropped their record down to 5-10.
Valparaiso came out on top in a nail-biter against New Prairie in their previous matchup back in April of 2022, sneaking past 1-0. Do the Vikings have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
