Baseball Game Preview: North Newton Spartans vs. North White Vikings

For the second straight game, North Newton will face off against North White. The Spartans will head out to face off against the Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. North Newton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.

North Newton took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on North White with a sharp 13-5 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Spartans considering their one-run performance the game before.

Hunter Crabtree

Batters Struck Out

05/13/25 vs North White	3
05/09/25 @ Faith Christian	2
05/05/25 @ Calumet Christian	2
05/01/25 vs West Central	2
04/21/25 vs Benton Central	1
04/17/25 @ Frontier	4

Koye Viers and Hunter Crabtree made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Viers pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Crabtree pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. At bat, Viers went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI, while Crabtree went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI.

In other batting news, Bryce Gibson was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of North Newton's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 4-11 when he doesn't). Preston Boezeman was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI.

North Newton kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

North Newton is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 7-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for North White, they are on an eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-9.