The Bigelow Panthers will square off against the St. Joseph Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Bigelow lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Wonderview, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's game. Bigelow was the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over Wonderview on Thursday.
Jay Howell made a splash no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Howell was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Braeden Winningham looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits.
Back at the plate, Jake Berry and Luke Schluterman did most of the damage at the plate: Berry scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Schluterman went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Guy Starks was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Bigelow always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .526. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wonderview only posted an OBP of .364.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They never let the Rebels get on the board and left with a 19-0 win. That 19 run margin sets a new team best for the Bulldogs this season.
Like Bigelow, St. Joseph also got a great game from a two-way player: Trevor Jackson. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Jackson gave up only zero walks, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024. He was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on George Heer, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Travis Jackson, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
St. Joseph pushed their record up to 3-1 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Bigelow, the win got them back to even at 1-1.
Bigelow might still be hurting after the 7-1 loss they got from St. Joseph in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Will Bigelow have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
