Bellevue West has won three straight games at home, while Millard North has won three straight on the road dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds will welcome the Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Bellevue West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Gretna East, who was ranked 11th at the time (Bellevue West was ranked fourth). The Thunderbirds never let the Griffins get on the board and left with a 1-0 victory on Monday.
Joseph Hartin-Kovy tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over 6.1 innings pitched.
At the plate, Bellevue West's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Aiden Ensor, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Millard North sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-5 victory over Kearney on Monday. That's two games straight that the Mustangs have won by just one run.
Brandon Berge made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other pitching news, Millard North got a great performance from Cam Johnson as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Those six strikeouts gave Johnson a new career-high.
Back at the plate, Ripken Fleck was excellent, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Alex Buresh, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Bellevue West's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Millard North, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Bellevue West hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Millard North struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Everything went Bellevue West's way against Millard North in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Bellevue West made off with a 13-3 win. Do the Thunderbirds have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Mustangs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
