With a playoff game on the line, Crean Lutheran rose to the challenge on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Paloma Valley Wildcats 9-8. That's two games straight that Crean Lutheran has won by just one run.
For Paloma Valley's part, they got a good showing from Brody Smearer, who struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits (and only one walk). Smearer has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Ayden Harrison made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and fired off two home runs and four RBI while going 2-for-4. Bubba Heidler was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
The victory made it two in a row for Crean Lutheran and bumps their season record up to 16-12. As for Paloma Valley, their defeat ended a 19-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 27-2.
Crean Lutheran will face off against Citrus Valley at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The last four games Crean Lutheran has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one. Paloma Valley does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
