The Nicolet Knights will take on the Shorewood Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Nicolet managed to slip by New Berlin Eisenhower the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Knights lost 13-4 to the Lions on Saturday.
Nicolet saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nick Bongard, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Jack Merk was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Shorewood put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Augustine Prep a 25-0 shutout. While the Greyhounds didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Aedan Rowhani looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in May of 2024.
At the plate, Shorewood let Braylen White and Owen McLellan run wild. White scored four runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4, while McLellan scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. What's more, McLellan posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Tenzin Pavlik, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Shorewood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .636. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .581 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Shorewood's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average this season. As for Nicolet, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-2.
Nicolet was able to grind out a solid victory over Shorewood when the teams last played back in May of 2023, winning 5-0. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Greyhounds have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
