Baseball Game Preview: Hammond Central Wolves vs. Hammond Baptist Swordsmen

The Hammond Central Wolves will venture away from home to challenge the Hammond Baptist Swordsmen at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hammond Central has given up an average of 10.2 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Fans were treated to a battle of the Wolves on Friday. Hammond Central lost 14-5 to Michigan City.

Julian Santiago

Runs

04/19/25 @ Benton Harbor	3
05/16/25 @ Michigan City	2
05/02/25 vs Bowman Academy	2
04/19/25 @ Benton Harbor	2
05/14/25 vs Gary West Side	1
+ 3 more games

Hammond Central saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Julian Santiago, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Santiago has become a key player for Hammond Central: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 5-14-1 otherwise.

Meanwhile, Hammond Baptist had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it three last Friday. Everything went their way against the Cardinals as they made off with a 6-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Swordsmen, who have now won four games by six runs or more so far this season.

Hammond Baptist's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.3 runs over those games. As for Hammond Central, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost seven of their last eight matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-15-1 record this season.