Gretna and Papillion-LaVista are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2016, but likely not for long. The Dragons will face off against the Monarchs at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Gretna proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by seven) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Bellevue West, sneaking past 5-4.
Jaxon Nielsen
Jaxon Nielsen looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Gretna is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 1-6 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Gretna's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Joe Sullivan, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Griffin Goldman was another, going 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Meanwhile, Papillion-LaVista sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over Lincoln Southeast on Friday.
Caden Sterling tossed a big game, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
Papillion-LaVista's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-5. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Gretna, their record is now 3-7.
Gretna came out on top in a nail-biter against Papillion-LaVista in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, sneaking past 6-5. Will the Dragons repeat their success, or do the Monarchs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
