Bennington and Norris are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Badgers will welcome the Titans at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Bennington 4, Norris 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Bennington is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nebraska's top teams: Waverly, who was ranked 12th at the time (Bennington was ranked 18th). The Badgers were the clear victors by a 12-5 margin over the Vikings on Thursday. The Badgers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by seven runs or more this season.
Brandt Schmidt
| 04/16/26 @ Waverly | 11 |
| 03/21/26 @ Mount Michael Benedictine | 8 |
| 04/08/26 vs Gross Catholic | 7 |
| 03/26/26 @ Standing Bear | 5 |
| 04/02/26 @ Gretna | 4 |
Bennington got a great performance from Brandt Schmidt as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave Schmidt a new career-high.
At the plate, Baylor Uhing was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two doubles, and one triple. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gabe Nickel, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Bennington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .405. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Waverly only posted a batting average of .250.
Meanwhile, Norris had just enough and edged out Gretna 2-1 on Thursday. The Titans haven't had any issues with the Dragons recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Anden Papik tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Norris saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kyson Gana, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Bennington's victory bumped their record up to 11-5. As for Norris, their win bumped their record up to an identical 11-5.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Bennington has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.7 hits per game. However, it's not like Norris struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Bennington was able to grind out a solid victory over Norris when the teams last played back in May of 2025, winning 4-0. Do the Badgers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Titans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
