The Nichols Vikings will face off against the Depew Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Nichols is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Nichols will bounce into Friday's game after beating St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Vikings never let the Marauders get on the board and left with a 5-0 victory on Thursday.
Ross Yoshida made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI.
Trenton Ruffolo
| 04/30/25 @ Canisius | 3 |
| 04/07/25 @ Gowanda | 3 |
| 05/08/25 vs St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute | 2 |
| 04/23/25 vs St. Francis | 2 |
| 04/17/25 vs Akron | 2 |
| + 4 more games |
Yoshida wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Trenton Ruffolo, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base. Nichols is undefeated when Ruffolo posts two or more runs, but 3-4 otherwise. Another was Reed Coene, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one RBI.
Iroquois hit Depew with a five-run fifth inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Wildcats lost 10-3 to the Redhawks. That's two games in a row now that the Wildcats have lost by exactly seven runs.
Nichols has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Depew, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-5.
Everything went Nichols' way against Depew when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Nichols made off with a 17-7 victory. Do the Vikings 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
