The NorthWood Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Wawasee Warriors at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. NorthWood's pitching crew has only allowed 2.8 runs per game this season, so Wawasee's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
NorthWood had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the eight-run drubbing they dealt Culver Academies on Saturday. The Panthers blew past the Eagles 10-2. The Panthers not only won on Saturday, but they posted their biggest win since April 25th (when they won 10-0).
NorthWood got a great performance from Brady Blackford as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Blackford has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Connor Reed and Mason Bogan did most of the damage at the plate: Reed got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Bogan got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases Reed has posted over his last 14 games. The team also got some help courtesy of Nate Dutkowski, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI, one triple, and one run.
NorthWood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .526. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Culver Academies only posted an OBP of .222.
Meanwhile, Wawasee was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their 15th straight defeat dating back to last season. They came up short against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, falling 12-1.
Wawasee saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Addison Coy, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one RBI. That RBI marked the first that Coy has brought in this season.
NorthWood is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Wawasee, their loss dropped their record down to 0-14.
NorthWood took their win against Wawasee in their previous meeting back in April by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
