The Shawano Community Hawks are taking a road trip to square off against the Seymour Thunder at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
It was a Battle of the Birds when Shawano Community challenged Menasha on Friday. The Hawks were the clear victors by a 14-7 margin over the Bluejays. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hawks.
Anderson Schmidt was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Crew Weisnicht, who went 3-for-5 with one double and one RBI.
Shawano Community was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .394. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .312 or higher in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Seymour came tearing into Friday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.2 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Bulldogs as they made off with a 14-4 win. The result was nothing new for the Thunder, who have now won eight contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Seymour got a massive performance out of Xavier Salzman, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. That's the most runs Salzman has posted since back in April. Carson Staffeldt also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triples of the season.
Seymour pushed their record up to 13-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Shawano Community, their record now sits at 7-4.
Monday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Shawano Community has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. However, it's not like Seymour struggles in that department as they've averaged .440. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Shawano Community was able to grind out a solid victory over Seymour in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 5-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
