The Lakeview Bulldogs are taking a road trip to face off against the Howland Tigers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lakeview is headed into the game having just posted their closest victory since May 1, 2024 on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 win over Girard. Those three runs were actually the fewest the Bulldogs have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Lakeview's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Isaiah Lantz, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. What's more, Lantz posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Brandon Toot also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Howland had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 14-1 margin over the Quakers. Considering the Tigers have won three contests by more than 11 runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Howland also got a great performance from Steven Bubon as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). The Tigers are 2-1 when Bubon allows one or fewer earned runs, but 1-3 otherwise.
At the plate, Howland let Dominic Santee and Keaton Perry run wild. Santee scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Perry went 3-for-4 with five RBI, one run, and one double. Santee is becoming a predictor of Howland's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 0-3 when he doesn't). Bode Biggin was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Howland always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Salem only posted an OBP of .263.
Lakeview now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Howland, their record is now 3-4.
Lakeview was able to grind out a solid win over Howland in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 7-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
