Baseball Game Preview: Northview Wildcats vs. Hudsonville Eagles

The Northview Wildcats will head out to square off against the Hudsonville Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Northview's pitching crew has only allowed 2.9 runs per game this season, so Hudsonville's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Northview will head out to face Hudsonville after giving up their first home loss of the season on Wednesday. The Wildcats took a 9-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Lowell. Wildcats fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Red Arrows since on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hudsonville strolled into their game on Thursday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They blew past West Ottawa 6-0. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won three contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Jackson Hammersmith tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out ten over six innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Johnny Karsten, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Kaden Howard was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double.

Hudsonville's win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average this season. As for Northview, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.

Northview came out on top in a nail-biter against Hudsonville in their previous meeting back in May of 2018, sneaking past 8-6. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.