The Valley Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Forge Christian Fury at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Valley is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 18 runs on Monday, they were much more limited against University on Wednesday. They fell 4-1 to the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, Forge Christian waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with 11 straight wins... but they left with 12. They had just enough and edged out the Mustangs 5-3. Five seems to be a good number for the Fury as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Burke Jasa spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Easton Wilde was excellent, going 2-for-4 with one triple and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Brock Wycoff, who went 1-for-3 with two runs.
Forge Christian pushed their record up to 16-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-10 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Forge Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against Forge Christian in their previous meeting back in May of 2019, sneaking past 1-0. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Fury have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
