Baseball Preview: Schlarman Hilltoppers vs. Westville Tigers
The Schlarman Hilltoppers will head out on the road to challenge the Westville Tigers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Schlarman is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.
Schlarman will bounce into Monday's game after beating Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Schlarman put the hurt on Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman with a sharp 12-1 win on Thursday. Considering Schlarman has won four matchups by more than seven runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Ricky Soderstrom was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). Soderstrom was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jerrius Atkinson, who scored four runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Owen Jones, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, after a string of 11 wins, Westville's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They lost 10-3 to St. Joseph-Ogden.
Schlarman's victory bumped their record up to 5-7. As for Westville, their defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-4-1.
Schlarman suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to Westville in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Can Schlarman avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
