The Valley Vikings will head out to challenge the Fox Chapel Foxes at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Valley earned a 6-3 victory over Highlands. The Vikings haven't had any issues with the Golden Rams recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Nikolas Heakins
| 04/15/25 @ Knoch | 2 |
| 04/09/25 vs Derry | 1 |
| 04/01/25 @ Derry | 1 |
Nikolas Heakins was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Valley is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-6 otherwise. Heakins was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.
Heakins wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Julian Danko, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI. That's the most RBI Danko has posted since back in March.
Meanwhile, Fox Chapel waltzed into their matchup on Monday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They came out on top against the Tigers by a score of 4-1.
Like Valley, Fox Chapel also got a great game from a two-way player: Tristan Blum. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Blum has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Antonio LeDonne, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one RBI. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
Fox Chapel's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Valley, their record is now 7-8.
Valley suffered a grim 14-5 defeat to Fox Chapel when the teams last played back in April of 2021. Can the Vikings avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
