Niagara is 1-9 against Coleman since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Badgers will welcome the Cougars at 4:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Niagara had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the ten-run drubbing they dealt Wausaukee on Wednesday. The Badgers blew past the Rangers 11-1. The Badgers haven't had any issues with the Rangers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Remington Buchanan spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on six hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Niagara got a massive performance out of Tj Beard, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Those two runs gave Beard a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aj Sweig, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Coleman had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.7 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over the Maroons. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won six matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Coleman also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Cole Berth gave up only one earned run on three hits.
At the plate, Matt Tedtman was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and one run. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Miles Lewis was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Coleman pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Niagara, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 2-3.
Niagara might still be hurting after the 10-0 loss they got from Coleman when the teams last played back in April. Will the Badgers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
