The Bennington Badgers will challenge the Gretna East Griffins at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bennington 2.7, Gretna East 2.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Bennington is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They blew past Gross Catholic 11-1. The Badgers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 contests by six runs or more this season.
Connor Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on one hit and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Hunter Spencer, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Aidan Smith, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Bennington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April.
Three must be Gretna East's lucky number: they beat Skutt Catholic with that score not once but twice on Wednesday. The Griffins beat the SkyHawks by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 3-2. The victory was familiar territory for the Griffins, who have now won four games in a row.
Chase Neneman made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.
Neneman wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Colton Kuhl, who went 3-for-6 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Those three hits gave Kuhl a new career-high. Tanner Erdkamp was another, going 1-for-4 with three stolen bases.
Bennington has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 15 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 29-4 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Gretna East, their record now sits at 21-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bennington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gretna East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bennington came out on top in a nail-biter against Gretna East in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 2-1. Will the Badgers repeat their success, or do the Griffins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
