The Howards Grove Tigers are taking a road trip to challenge the Kiel Raiders at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Howards Grove has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Kiel will arrive with six straight wins.
On Thursday, Howards Grove came up short against Kohler and fell 9-4.
Ben Kaiser was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over 4.1 innings pitched. What's more, he gave up only three hits, the fewest he's had over his last five contests. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run.
Kaiser wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mason Scharl, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Kiel). Everything went their way against Sheboygan Falls on Thursday as they made off with a 24-1 victory. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Raiders with their most commanding win of the season.
Like Howards Grove, Kiel also got a great game from a two-way player: Cade Voelker. On the mound, Voelker pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Colton Schaefer tossed 1.2 innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. Voelker has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. At bat, Voelker went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI, one run, and one double, while Schaefer went 2-for-5 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most runs Schaefer has posted since back in May of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Owen Schmit, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one run, and one double. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
Kiel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .540. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sheboygan Falls only posted an OBP of .273.
Kiel pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Howards Grove, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Howards Grove has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Kiel struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Howards Grove couldn't quite finish off Kiel in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 and fell 2-0. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
