The Hastings Tigers will face off against the Waverly Vikings at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Hastings is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Kearney, who was ranked 23rd at the time (Hastings was ranked 11th). The Tigers came out on top against the Bearcats by a score of 11-8 on Tuesday. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Bearcats recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
The team relied heavily on BROOKE OCHSNER, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs she has posted since back in September. The team also got some help courtesy of EMILY KRATZER, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
Waverly came out on top against Seward on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive six-run third inning. The Vikings blew past the Bluejays 10-2. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Vikings' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Luci Thieman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, Waverly got a massive performance out of Blakeley Meyers, who went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Jill Hind, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Waverly was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .533. They are 9-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Hastings' win bumped their record up to 20-7. As for Waverly, their victory bumped their record up to 16-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Hastings hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Waverly struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Hastings' way against Waverly in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as Hastings made off with a 12-6 win. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
