Before they square off in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs Saturday, Highland baseball matches up with the Lone Tree Lions tonight on the KCII3 Stream.
In each of their last two games, the Huskies have seen early leads fade into close losses. Despite 6 strong innings from Colten Sypherd Thursday, Highland managed just four hits against WMU and stranded eight. They head to the plate tonight with a .245 average and are getting on base nearly 40 percent of the time. The trio of juniors Ryker Miller, William Dunbar, and Logan McFarland lead the bats for Highland, uniting for more than 75 percent of the team’s extra-base hits. The Huskies are coming off one of their best defensive performances against the Wolves. A fielding percentage of .884 and ERA of 5.50 each improved since the team’s last game. Highland trailed the Lions 7-2 halfway through their last meeting, but exploded for seven runs in the sixth and 11 runs in the seventh to blow out Lone Tree 20-8.
Lion baseball has won just two games since that contest, the second taking place a week ago today. Lone Tree rode a big fifth inning to an 8-2 victory over West Burlington. Jack Patterson scored a run, and pitched seven innings. The junior struck out nine to improve to 4-3 on the mound. Brody Magruder knocked in three for one of his most productive games at the plate. On the season, it’s been Emmett Burke setting the pace offensively. His .478 average, .559 OBP, and .565 slugging percentage each lead the team, and his 22 hits are the most by nine. Patterson has seen the most time on the bump for Lone Tree, followed by Owen Eden and Ethan Bockelman. Six total pitchers have combined for a 7.59 ERA, 102 strikeouts, and 92 walks. Highland is the winners of ten straight against the Lions, with the last Lone Tree victory coming in 2019.
This playoff preview between the Lions and Huskies can be heard tonight on the KCII3 Stream, found on KCIIradio.com by clicking “listen live”. The Roder Epoxy Pregame Show gets things started at 5 p.m. followed by first pitch at 5:30 from Riverside.