Baseball Preview: Nicolet Knights vs. Homestead Highlanders
The Nicolet Knights will head out on the road to square off against the Homestead Highlanders at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Nicolet will be strutting in after a win while Homestead will be coming in after a loss.
Nicolet will bounce into Friday's match after beating Whitefish Bay, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Nicolet sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Whitefish Bay on Wednesday.
Gabe Nelson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Nelson was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Nelson wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was James Wirth, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Wirth has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive pitching appearances. Ben Ott was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-5.
Meanwhile, Homestead fell victim to Grafton and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Black Hawks. Homestead has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Nicolet pushed their record up to 18-5 with that win, which was their ninth straight at home. As for Homestead, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-13.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Nicolet has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Homestead struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Nicolet came out on top in a nail-biter against Homestead in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 2-1. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Homestead's Lucas Wirth, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over six innings pitched. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Nicolet still be able to contain Wirth? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
