The Basic Wolves will head out on the road to square off against the Orange Lutheran Lancers at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Basic sitting on four straight wins and Orange Lutheran on six.
Basic is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Bishop Gorman, who was ranked 11th at the time (Basic was ranked second). Basic's pitchers stepped up to hand Bishop Gorman a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday. The two-run effort marked the Wolves' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Basic got a great performance from Adrian Ramos as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over six innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave Ramos a new career-high.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Tate Southisene, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Dallon Cegavske also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Orange Lutheran won against Palo Verde on Tuesday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Wednesday. Orange Lutheran blew past Franklin 10-0. That ten run margin sets a new team best for the Lancers this season.
Gary Morse tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in hits (zero).
On the hitting side, Hamilton Friedberg and Josiah Hartshorn did most of the damage at the plate: Friedberg went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Hartshorn went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Hartshorn is on a roll when it comes to home runs, as he's now launched at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Wyatt Hanoian was another key player, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.
Orange Lutheran kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in three consecutive contests.
Orange Lutheran pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Basic, their record is now 8-2.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Basic hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .320. However, it's not like Orange Lutheran struggles in that department as they've averaged .317. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Basic couldn't quite finish off Orange Lutheran when the teams last played back in April of 2022 and fell 2-0. Can Basic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
