The Papillion-LaVista Monarchs will face off against the Gretna Dragons at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Wednesday, Papillion-LaVista beat Bellevue East 6-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Papillion-LaVista.
Tanner Apgar spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up six Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than seven innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Issac Pamaran, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Trent Lavicky, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Gretna scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They never let Bryan onto the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded Gretna with their most commanding win of the season.
Keagan Burns looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Bryce Lakers, who scored three runs and stole four bases while going 3-for-3. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Joe Sullivan, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.
Papillion-LaVista's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 16-7. As for Gretna, their victory bumped their record up to 8-16.
Papillion-LaVista skirted past Gretna 2-1 in their previous matchup on Thursday. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gretna's Karson Skokan, who struck out nine batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Papillion-LaVista still be able to contain Skokan? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps