The Kalama Chinooks will face off against the La Center Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Kalama has struggled recently with five defeats in a row, while La Center will arrive with six straight wins.
Kalama came up short against Napavine on Monday, falling 15-5.
Kalama saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isaak Ketzbeau, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, La Center narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Prairie 4-2.
Justin Fuller made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing three bases while going 1-for-3.
In other pitching news, Austin Aseph looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Back at the plate, Gunnar Schockelt was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run. Blake Willis was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
La Center hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in four consecutive games.
La Center pushed their record up to 9-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Kalama, their loss dropped their record down to 1-10.
Kalama took their win against La Center in their previous meeting back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 11-0 score. Do the Chinooks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
