The Pine Island Panthers will face off against the Lourdes Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pine Island will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Tuesday as neither Pine Island nor Byron made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Panthers came out on top against the Bears by a score of 4-1.
The team relied heavily on Ben Grabau, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Landon Lowrie, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Lourdes' good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell just short of Cannon Falls by a score of 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Eagles have suffered since May 11, 2024.
Nicholas Bowron made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Pine Island's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Lourdes, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
Lourdes' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pine Island hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .338. It's a different story for Lourdes, though, as they've only averaged .185. Will they be able to contain Pine Island's hitters?
Pine Island came out on top in a nail-biter against Lourdes in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
