Baseball Game Preview: Kimberly Papermakers vs. Oak Creek Knights

The Kimberly Papermakers will take on the Oak Creek Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The last three games Kimberly has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

On Thursday, it was close, but Kimberly sidestepped Oshkosh West for a 4-2 victory. That's two games straight that the Papermakers have won by exactly two runs.

Sawyer Deering

Base on Balls Against

04/24/25 vs Oshkosh West	0
04/10/25 vs Neenah	2
03/31/25 @ Evansville North	2

Sawyer Deering spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on two hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Benny Kieffer was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Halfmann, who went 1-for-2 with two runs.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Oak Creek's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 6-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of Slinger.

Kimberly pushed their record up to 5-2-1 with the win, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Oak Creek, their loss dropped their record down to 5-2.

Kimberly was able to grind out a solid win over Oak Creek when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 12-9. Will the Papermakers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.