Mishawaka has gone 9-1 against South Bend Riley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Cavemen will venture away from home to square off against the Wildcats at 11:00 a.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Mishawaka barely beat Goshen the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Cavemen's pitcher stepped up to hand the RedHawks an 11-0 shutout on Friday. The Cavemen have beaten the RedHawks the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the RedHawks has come to flipping the script.
Braedyn Smith
| 04/25/25 @ Goshen | 3 |
| 04/14/25 @ South Bend Saint Joseph | 1 |
| 04/01/25 @ Jimtown | 1 |
| 05/03/24 @ Wawasee | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Braedyn Smith, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Kamdon Putz also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Mishawaka always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Goshen only posted an OBP of .278.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask South Bend Riley). They were the clear victors by a 13-1 margin over East Chicago Central on Thursday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Wildcats with their most commanding win of the season.
Uriah Orozco made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He has become a key player for South Bend Riley: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-6 otherwise. Orozco was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one double.
In other batting news, Carson Meadimber was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Lucas Wyckoff, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Mishawaka's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for South Bend Riley, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-7.
Mishawaka took their victory against South Bend Riley in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Cavemen since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
