Baseball Game Preview: Grafton Black Hawks vs. Nicolet Knights

Grafton hasn't had much luck against Nicolet recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Black Hawks will venture away from home to take on the Knights at 5:00 p.m. Grafton will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.

Nicolet's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Monday: Grafton hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. The Black Hawks were the clear victors by an 11-0 margin over New Holstein on Saturday. The Black Hawks have beaten the Huskies the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Huskies has come to flipping the script.

Kevin Quello and Nicholas Schiller did most of the damage at the plate: Quello got on base in two of his three plate appearances with three runs and one RBI, while Schiller went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Schiller has posted since back in April. Zachary Plier was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.

Nicolet came out on top against Port Washington on Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive four-run fourth inning. The Knights took their game against the Pirates 8-3. Eight seems to be a good number for the Knights as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Cole Fox was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. He has become a key player for Nicolet: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jack Stuck, who went 1-for-3 with three runs.

The victory was the third in a row for Nicolet, bringing their record up to 6-11. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Grafton, their record now sits at 13-6.

Grafton beat Nicolet 8-3 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Black Hawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.