The Kenai Central Kardinals will face off against the Grace Christian Grizzlies at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Kenai Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Kenai Central is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Homer, who was ranked 13th at the time (Kenai Central was ranked ninth). The Kardinals never let the Mariners get on the board and left with a 13-0 victory on Thursday. Considering the Kardinals have won three matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Jacob Joanis
| 05/10/25 vs Soldotna | 2 |
| 05/03/25 @ Palmer | 1 |
Jacob Joanis was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Kenai Central is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-3 otherwise. Joanis was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Braden Smith was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season. Another player making a difference was Avery Martin, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base.
Kenai Central hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Homer struck out nine times.
Meanwhile, Grace Christian was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 11-1 to Homer.
Kenai Central's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Grace Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
Kenai Central took their win against Grace Christian in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 19-4 score. Will the Kardinals repeat their success, or do the Grizzlies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
