Napoleon is 2-8 against Perrysburg since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wildcats will welcome the Yellow Jackets at 5:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Napoleon 2.9, Perrysburg 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Napoleon barely beat Southview the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Wildcats never let the Cougars get on the board and left with an 8-0 win on Wednesday. Considering the Wildcats have won nine contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Owen Espinoza's shutout, as he gave up just five hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Paul Sausser, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April. Trey Rubinstein was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one triple and two RBI.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Perrysburg's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell just short of Defiance by a score of 4-3.
Perrysburg saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Landon Winters, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base.
Napoleon has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4-1 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Perrysburg, their loss dropped their record down to 13-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Napoleon has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Perrysburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
