The Waverly Vikings will take on the Gretna East Griffins at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Waverly is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Norris, who was ranked 18th at the time (Waverly was ranked tenth). The Vikings had just enough and edged out the Titans 6-4.
Brady Schieffer looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in 12 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Waverly's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Connor Gunderson, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Gretna East owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Saturday. They came out on top against Elkhorn North by a score of 4-0.
Nolan Green made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Green was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Gretna East got a great performance from Austin Copeland as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched.
Gretna East's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-9. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Waverly, their win bumped their record up to 20-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Waverly has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gretna East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Waverly skirted past Gretna East 7-5 when the teams last played back in April. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Griffins have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
