Baseball Preview: Norwell Knights vs. Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins
The Norwell Knights will head out on the road to take on the Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Norwell's pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Fort Wayne Northrop's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Norwell will head into Tuesday's match out to bounce back: they came back down to earth on Tuesday after soaring to a 12-run contest in their last game. They fell just short of Columbia City by a score of 3-1. Norwell's loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Norwell saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cade Shelton, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Norwell hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Columbia City struck out six times.
Meanwhile, Fort Wayne Northrop can now show off ten landslide victories after their most recent game on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by an 11-1 margin over Fort Wayne South Side.
Jayden Sloniker was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Sloniker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances. Sloniker was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ayden Schuhler, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Nolan Wilson, who went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Norwell's defeat dropped their record down to 14-7. As for Fort Wayne Northrop, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Norwell has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Fort Wayne Northrop struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Norwell took their victory against Fort Wayne Northrop in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Norwell since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
