Baseball Game Preview: St. Paul/Palmer Wildcats vs. Central City/Centura Kernels

Wildcats

Runs

04/01/25 vs Centennial	9
03/27/25 vs Adams Central	6
03/25/25 vs Holdrege	11
03/22/25 @ Lincoln Christian	4
03/22/25 vs Maxwell	10
03/21/25 vs York	2

St. Paul/Palmer hasn't had much luck against Central City/Centura recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Wildcats are taking a road trip to take on the Kernels at 4:30 p.m. St. Paul/Palmer is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.

Central City/Centura will be up against a hot St. Paul/Palmer squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Wildcats came out on top against Centennial by a score of 9-5 on Tuesday.

Mason Hoppes and Braxton Heater did most of the damage at the plate: Hoppes scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Heater scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Those two stolen bases gave Hoppes a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Central City/Centura won against Hastings on Tuesday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. The Kernels never let Holdrege get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. Fans of the Kernels have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.

Hayden Murphy was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Murphy is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Mason Gorecki was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

The victory (which was Central City/Centura's third in a row) raised their record to 3-0. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average this season. As for St. Paul/Palmer, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. St. Paul/Palmer has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Central City/Centura struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

St. Paul/Palmer suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Central City/Centura when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.