The Cheney Cardinals will face off against the Collegiate Spartans at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Cheney is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.
Cheney is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let Conway Springs get on the board and left with a 13-0 win. Considering Cheney has won 11 matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Cameron Eastman made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Eastman was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and three runs.
In other batting news, Cheney got a massive performance out of Josh Burdick, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two triples, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those two triples gave Burdick a new career-high. Another player making a difference was AJ Quick, who went 1-for-4 with one home run and four RBI.
Cheney was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .520. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Collegiate came into Thursday's contest having lost seven straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over Haven on Thursday.
Like Cheney, Collegiate also got a great game from a two-way player: Jacob Stehley. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Stehley has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Gavin Klausmeyer, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. He has become a key player for Collegiate: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 10-13 otherwise.
Cheney's win bumped their record up to 20-5. As for Collegiate, their victory bumped their record up to 12-14.
Collegiate's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cheney hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .331. It's a different story for Collegiate, though, as they've only averaged .257. Will they be able to contain Cheney's hitters?
Cheney skirted past Collegiate 5-4 when the teams last played back in March. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
