The Valley Center Hornets will head out on the road to square off against the Hutchinson Salthawks on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Tuesday, Valley Center made easy work of Andover and carried off an 8-2 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hornets.
Doc Needham
| 03/31/25 vs Maize | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs Andover | 1 |
Doc Needham spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Valley Center is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 3-4 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Braden Heitsman and Austin Saner did most of the damage at the plate: Heitsman scored two runs while going 2-for-2, while Saner scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those stolen bases were Saner's first of the season. Gavin Saner was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Hutchinson came tearing into Tuesday's match with three straight wins , and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with an 8-3 victory over the Panthers. That's two games straight that the Salthawks have won by exactly five runs.
The win got Valley Center back to even at 5-5. As for Hutchinson, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
Valley Center took their win against Hutchinson when the teams last played back in May of 2018 by a conclusive 16-6 score. Will the Hornets repeat their success, or do the Salthawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
