Valparaiso is 1-6 against Highland since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Valparaiso Vikings will look to defend their home field against the Highland Trojans at 4:30 p.m. Valparaiso will be looking to extend their current ten-game winning streak.
On Friday, Valparaiso needed a bit of extra time to put away Elkhart. They came out on top against the Lions by a score of 7-4.
Adler Holtz made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Holtz has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Holtz was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Trent Gill, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Matthew Civanich, who scored a run and stole three bases.
Meanwhile, Highland was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They fell just short of Chesterton by a score of 3-2.
Kyle Stacy was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over 5.2 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Highland saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caden VanderMeyden, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Gordon, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with a stolen base.
Valparaiso has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-2 record this season. As for Highland, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-17.
Highland's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Valparaiso hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .330. It's a different story for Highland, though, as they've only averaged .207. Will they be able to contain Valparaiso's hitters? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
