St. Paul/Palmer had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 4-6 to make it four. They fell just short of the Wayne Blue Devils by a score of 5-3. If the Wildcats were looking for revenge after losing 11-1 to the Blue Devils when the teams met back in April of 2025, then they'll just have to keep looking.
St. Paul/Palmer saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Christian Lemburg, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
As for Wayne, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games.
On Wayne's side, Jaxson Kneifl spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits and racked up ten Ks. Kneifl also tossed a walk, which is notable because the Blue Devils are undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 3-5 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Wayne let Adrian Contreras and Parker Patefield run wild. Contreras got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run, while Patefield went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Chase Sturm was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. St. Paul/Palmer is set to face off against their familiar foe Thurston-Cuming County at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Wayne will square off against rival Ralston at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
