The Howland Tigers will face off against the Boardman Spartans at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Howland sitting on five straight wins and Boardman on three.
Howland's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday. They blew past Streetsboro 13-0. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five contests by ten runs or more this season.
Brooke Tatar made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that she snagged this season.
Madison Schmitz
| 04/12/25 @ Streetsboro | 4 |
| 04/12/25 @ Hudson | 4 |
| 04/09/25 vs Girard | 2 |
| 04/07/25 @ Salem | 2 |
| 04/04/25 @ Crestwood | 3 |
| + 6 more games |
In other batting news, Madison Schmitz was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 2.1 runs per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Maya Kubancsek, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Howland hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least four batters in nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Boardman earned a 5-1 victory over GlenOak on Saturday.
Tori Strines spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Boardman's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Alex Ward, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Howland's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-4. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Boardman, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.
Both Howland and Boardman just can't seem to miss. The Tigers have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Boardman struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Howland beat Boardman 4-1 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
