The Celina Bulldogs will take on the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Celina is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Lima Senior a 25-0 shutout on Saturday. With that win, the Bulldogs brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Brodee Schulte-Arnold was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (two). He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Celina is undefeated when Schulte-Arnold posts two or more runs, but 5-10 otherwise.
In other pitching news, Wes Greber looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Celina is 2-1 when he allows at most two walks, but 6-9 otherwise.
Nick Steinbrunner
| 05/10/25 @ Lima Senior | 4 |
| 04/24/25 @ Kenton | 4 |
| 04/12/25 vs New Haven | 3 |
| 05/10/25 @ Lima Senior | 1 |
| 05/08/25 @ Ottawa-Glandorf | 1 |
| + 3 more games |
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Nick Steinbrunner, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with five runs, four RBI, and two doubles. He has become a key player for Celina: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 5-10 otherwise. Tanner Wendel was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Celina always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .587. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Lima Central Catholic got the win against Perry on Saturday by a conclusive 11-1. That looming 11-1 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Thunderbirds yet this season.
The victory made it two in a row for Celina and bumps their season record up to 8-10. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 3 runs in those games. As for Lima Central Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 7-11.
Celina beat Lima Central Catholic 6-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Thunderbirds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
