The Bennington Badgers will head out on the road to take on the Gretna Dragons at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bennington 1.4, Gretna 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Bennington is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Gretna East, who was ranked 16th at the time (Bennington was ranked tenth). The Badgers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over the Griffins on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Badgers, who have now won three games in a row.
Connor Smith
| 03/31/26 vs Gretna East | 1 |
| 03/24/26 @ Blair | 1 |
| 03/20/26 @ Crete | 0 |
Connor Smith tossed a big game, pitching 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gretna). They blew past Lincoln Northwest 18-5 on Saturday. While the Dragons didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Nolan Spencer was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Spencer was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2025.
In other batting news, Gretna let Reid Bagley and Abe Isaacson run wild. Bagley went 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double, while Isaacson went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that Isaacson has brought in this season. Jack Huttmann was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and one run.
Gretna was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .457. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lincoln Northwest only posted a batting average of .300.
Bennington's record is now 8-1. As for Gretna, their record now sits at 4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bennington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gretna struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bennington skirted past Gretna 2-0 in their previous meeting back in April of 2025. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Badgers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
