Garfield-Palouse hasn't had much luck against Colton recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Vikings will challenge the Wildcats at 11:00 a.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Garfield-Palouse has three straight wins, Colton has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Garfield-Palouse is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse 18-3 on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Cooper Wells
| 04/01/25 @ Waitsburg/Prescott | 3 |
| 03/22/25 @ Pomeroy | 2 |
| 04/12/25 vs Dayton | 1 |
| 04/01/25 @ Waitsburg/Prescott | 1 |
| 03/19/25 @ Genesee | 1 |
Maxwell Mitzimberg and Cooper Wells made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Mitzimberg struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Meanwhile, Wells tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Garfield-Palouse is 3-0-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 2-3 otherwise. At the plate, Mitzimberg scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Wells scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Wells is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.
In other batting news, Garfield-Palouse got a massive performance out of Preston Olson, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Olson has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last six times he's played. Drew Montgomery also deserves some recognition as he scored his first runs of the season.
Garfield-Palouse kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse only managed five hits.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Colton challenged Waitsburg/Prescott on Wednesday. The Wildcats fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 17-16.
Tanner Baerlocher and Skyler Purnell did some serious damage despite the final result: Baerlocher went 4-for-6 with three stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI, while Purnell scored five runs and stole three bases while getting on base in five of his six plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dakota Cook, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5.
Garfield-Palouse pushed their record up to 5-3-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Colton, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Garfield-Palouse has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Colton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Garfield-Palouse beat Colton 17-14 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
