The Pella Christian baseball team begins Class 2A Substate 6 play today, traveling to Des Moines for a rematch with Grand View Christian in the back-half of a doubleheader at James W. Cownie Baseball Park.

The Eagles and Thunder are scheduled to play for the second time this week at 1 pm, after PCM and East Marshall kick-off the postseason twinbill at 11 am. Pella Christian hosted the Thunder in their third to last regular season game on Tuesday, with the Eagles hanging on for a 10-9 win. The victory evened the series on the baseball diamond between Pella Christian and Grand View Christian, with the Thunder winning the only other meeting in the Bound era last season 11-0. Eagles head coach Chris Fynaardt says that two of the keys to today’s matchup will be pitching and defense.

“Our pitchers just need to attack early in the count. Get that leadoff hitter out, or at least not walk him, and that will go a long way in limiting how many runs they’ll score. I think once they get on base they are a pretty aggressive team. Their top two hitters in the lineup steal quite a few bases, so it will be important to get those guys out and kind of control the rest of that lineup.”

Following their contest on Tuesday night, Pella Christian and Grand View Christian each had one more night of games to tune up for today’s meeting. The Thunder hosted South Hamilton on Wednesday and picked up an 8-2 win, while the Eagles traveled to State Center and dropped both games of a doubleheader to West Marshall 11-1 and 6-3.

Coverage of Pella Christian’s first postseason contest against Grand View Christian at James W. Cownie Baseball Park today can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS at 12:45 pm.