The KCII Area Game of the Week takes its second crack at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville tonight, where Winfield-Mt. Union baseball meets Burlington Notre Dame. 

As the Wolves make their first appearance on the KCII3 Stream, they do so coming off a season-opening loss to Hillcrest Academy. WMU staged a late comeback, but fell 11-7 in nine innings. Kohlby Newsom had two RBIs to lead the Wolves, while Riley Kaalberg had a 2-4 night with one knocked in. Cael Phillips lasted seven innings on the mound, where he struck out five in the loss. The Wolves finished middle of the pack in the Superconference North last season with an overall record of 6-14. Losing only three seniors, they’ll look to improve on last year’s numbers, which included a .256 team average, .355 on-base percentage, and .296 slugging percentage. On the bump, WMU saw a 5.80 collective ERA in just over 118 innings of work. 

Number two in the preseason rankings from the Coaches Association, Burlington Notre Dame got off to a 3-0 start, with wins over Moravia, Don Bosco, and West Burlington. One year removed from a State Quarterfinal appearance, the Nikes return eight of their nine starters. Through their first three games, Burlington Notre Dame is hitting .368 with an OBP of .481 and slug of .529. The Nikes are averaging more than 10 runs and 10 hits per game, with 25 knocked in. Using five different pitchers so far, their staff has an ERA of 0.70 allowing just 13 hits and two earned runs in 20 innings. 

These two teams have squared off 11 times in the last 14 years, with 10 of the games going to Burlington Notre Dame. You can hear the Area Game of the Week tonight on the KCII3 Stream, available only on KCIIradio.com. Pregame coverage starts at 5:30 p.m. with first pitch between the Wolves and Nikes at 6 from the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville.