The Mishawaka Cavemen are taking a road trip to face off against the Morgan Township Cherokees at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Mishawaka 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 Wawasee on Friday. The Cavemen blew past the Warriors 12-2. The win continues a trend for the Cavemen in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won six in a row.
Drew Ginter spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, Brady Hoopingarner and Shawn Nowacki did most of the damage at the plate: Hoopingarner went 1-for-2 with four stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI, while Nowacki got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases Nowacki has posted since back in May of 2024. Izaiah Bute was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Mishawaka always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wawasee only posted an OBP of .280.
Morgan Township came out on top against Westville on Friday thanks in part to the team's impressive nine-run second inning. The Cherokees were the clear victors by a 13-2 margin over the Blackhawks. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cherokees considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Matt Lowenthal looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He is becoming a predictor of Morgan Township's success: when he allows at most one hit the team is 2-1 (and 4-12-1 when he doesn't).
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Cooper Spagna, who went 1-for-2 with five stolen bases and two runs. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game. Bradley Farris also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
Morgan Township is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-13-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Mishawaka, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-5.
