The Wilsonville Wildcats will head out to challenge the Bend Lava Bears at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Wilsonville is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Wilsonville barely beat Caldera the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Wildcats were the clear victors by an 18-5 margin over Caldera on Friday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by six runs or more this season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Bend ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They beat Lake Oswego by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 6-5. While the Lava Bears didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Cash Hattenhauer made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.
Hattenhauer wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Will Goodman, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI. That stolen base was Goodman's first of the season. Another was Mason Pendergast, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Bend pushed their record up to 10-2 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Wilsonville, their record is now 9-0.
Wilsonville came out on top in a nail-biter against Bend in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
