Wabash is 2-8 against Whitko since May of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Apaches will head out on the road to face off against the Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
On Monday, it was close, but Wabash sidestepped Northwestern for a 5-3 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Apaches.
Kalli Davis spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on ten hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 16 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Andi Conliff was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBI, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Braun, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI.
They weren't the only ones working in the home run department: Wabash lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post two or more home runs.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Whitko ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They won by a run and slipped past Manchester 2-1. The victory continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Squires: they've now won three in a row.
Whitko saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Taylor Long, who went 1-for-4 with one run and one double.
Whitko pushed their record up to 13-5 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Wabash, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wabash has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Whitko struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wabash came out on top in a nail-biter against Whitko in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Apaches repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
