Spartans
| 05/07/26 @ Chaska | 4 |
| 05/06/26 @ Totino-Grace | 4 |
| 05/01/26 vs Delano | 5 |
| 04/30/26 @ Benilde-St. Margaret's | 7 |
| + 7 more games |
Orono and Waconia are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2017, but likely not for long. The Spartans will be playing in front of their home fans against the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Orono is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.7 runs per game this season.
Orono is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Minnesota's top teams: Chaska, who was ranked 14th at the time (Orono was ranked seventh). The Spartans fell just short of the Hawks by a score of 6-4 on Thursday. The Spartans' defeat signaled the end of their seven-game winning streak.
Rory Kvern made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Tichy, who went 1-for-4 with one triple and one run.
Meanwhile, Waconia entered their tilt with Jefferson on Thursday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Jaguars 12-10. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Wildcats considering their two-run performance the game before.
Gage Hoffer looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Culley Ohm, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cooper Stejskal, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Waconia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Jefferson only posted a batting average of .267.
Orono's loss dropped their record down to 10-2. As for Waconia, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Orono hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Waconia struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Orono beat Waconia 8-5 in their previous matchup back in April. Will the Spartans repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
