Under the lights of Arnold Klaers Baseball Field on Friday, Heritage Christian Academy will try to ruin senior appreciation night for host Providence Academy. No matter the game's outcome, both sides have a lot to be thankful for.
Heritage Christian (11-2, 8-1) has been rolling this season thanks to senior pitcher Seth Halvorsen, who has confounded hitters.
The Missouri commit has struck out an impressive 54 batters in 35 innings pitched to lead all pitchers with stats logged to MN Baseball Hub.
Halvorsen also has 10 RBI and 21 runs scored, making him a force at the plate as well. His .400 batting average is second-best on the team, which includes four other everyday players hitting over .300 and giving the Eagles plenty of offensive pop.
With 12 seniors, Providence Academy (9-2, 9-1) has roared through the season and are on track to become the first team other than Minnehaha Academy to win the Independent Metro Athletic Conference title. The Lions helped their cause by drubbing the defending Class 2A state champs in a doubleheader sweep (6-3 in Game 1 and 12-1 in Game 2) on May 4.
Scoring runs is part of the game plan used this season by Providence Academy, which has outscored opponents by 70 runs and has four everyday players hitting .400 or better. Keenan Hodgkin leads the group with a .538 batting average and .657 on-base percentage.
Will that high-powered offense be enough to overcome one of the state's best pitchers? We'll see in this star-studded matchup that is our Top Game of the Week.