Baseball Game Preview: Harrison Raiders vs. Western Panthers

The Harrison Raiders will challenge the Western Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Harrison will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Saturday, then bounced right back against Benton Central on Tuesday. The Raiders blew past the Bison 12-2. The Raiders haven't had any issues with the Bison recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Kreigh Salmon

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/19/26 @ Benton Central	9
04/04/26 vs Valparaiso	4
05/16/26 vs Homestead	3
04/30/26 vs Lafayette Central Catholic	3
04/18/26 vs Mt. Vernon	3

Harrison got a great performance from Kreigh Salmon as he struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). Those nine strikeouts gave Salmon a new career-high.

At the plate, Braylen Hands was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two stolen bases, and two runs. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had over his last ten games. Another player making a difference was Sammy Waggoner, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and three RBI.

Harrison always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Benton Central only posted an OBP of .276.

Western never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Mississinewa on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Indians with a sharp 12-1 victory.

Western's win bumped their record up to 21-2. As for Harrison, their victory bumped their record up to 15-8.

Harrison beat Western 7-4 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Do the Raiders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.