Woodbury was rolling, winning its first seven games of the season, and it continued to hum along until it surrendered five runs in the top of the fifth inning in a game on April 26 against Stillwater, No. 1 in the Class 4A Star Tribune metro rankings from April 29. The No. 2-4A Royals went on to lose the contest 6-4 and have gone .500 in four games since.
Despite its recent blemishes, Woodbury (9-3, 7-2) remains in the Suburban East Conference title race, but it will need a win against rival Mounds View (11-2, 8-2) to stay within striking distance of Stillwater. But the Royals feature a staff ace capable of keeping the team in any game, regardless of opponent.
On April 19, the Royals defeated No. 3-4A Mounds View 4-2 behind senior pitcher Adam Mazur, a South Dakota State commit. The righthander threw a complete game when he last played the Mustangs, striking out 11 and giving up six hits and one earned run. On the season, Mazur has a 0.22 ERA in 32 innings of work.
The Mustangs, however, have a deep lineup that can present challenges for Mazur and his teammates. Mounds View has five players batting over .300 on the season, including junior Robert Hogan, who got two of the Mustangs' hits against Mazur the last time these teams met. On the season, Hogan is batting .447 with a team-leading 12 RBI. He’s joined by fellow junior, Brett Bateman, who is an on-base machine with a .478 BA.