Baseball Game Preview: Westland Cougars vs. Whetstone Braves

The Westland Cougars will take on the Whetstone Braves at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Westland has now lost eight straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since April 25.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last three times Westland and New Albany have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Friday. The Cougars came up short against the Eagles, falling 27-1.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Whetstone had no problem doing just that on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Stars as they made off with an 11-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Braves, who have now won nine games by seven runs or more so far this season.

Oliver Hittle spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Zo Fox and August Johnson did most of the damage at the plate: Fox got on base in two of his four plate appearances with three runs and one stolen base, while Johnson went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Those three runs gave Fox a new career-high. Liam Knostman was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.

Westland's loss dropped their record down to 4-18-1. As for Whetstone, their victory bumped their record up to 15-6.

Westland suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Whetstone when the teams last played back in April of 2016. Will the Cougars 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.