The Whitmer Panthers will square off against the Ross Little Giants at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Ross took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Whitmer, who comes in off a win.
Whitmer is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Lima Senior get on the board and left with a 16-0 victory on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Panthers considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Brayden Bannister was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Dom Arent was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Whitmer always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .579. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Ross fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Bowling Green on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 11-7 to the Bobcats. While the Little Giants didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bobcats 6-0 in the first period.
Braylon Schneider put in work while hitting and pitching. He tossed four innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (zero). He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one run.
In other batting news, Breylen Garza was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Robert Rich Jr, who went 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Whitmer's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-8. As for Ross, their defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 7-8.
Whitmer took their victory against Ross when the teams last played back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Little Giants turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
