The Whitmer Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Bowsher Rebels at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Whitmer is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.9 runs per game this season.
Perrysburg hit Whitmer with a four-run first inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Panthers took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Yellow Jackets. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Yellow Jackets: they've now lost five in a row.
Whitmer saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Collin Lawerence, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
The home team had come away the winner the last four times Bowsher and Rogers had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Rebels' pitcher stepped up to hand the Rams a 15-0 shutout on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Rebels, who have now won six matchups by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Not much got past Landon Imhoff, who gave up just a hit and racked up 11 Ks to keep Rogers off the board. Imhoff has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Bowsher got a massive performance out of Tyler Gray, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those three RBI gave Gray a new career-high. Sean Hartford was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Bowsher was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .432. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
The win got Bowsher back to even at 9-9. As for Whitmer, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Whitmer has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Bowsher struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Whitmer's way against Bowsher in their previous matchup back in March of 2019, as Whitmer made off with an 11-3 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
