The Germantown Warhawks will challenge the Homestead Highlanders at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Germantown's pitching crew has only allowed 2.4 runs per game this season, so Homestead's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Homestead is facing Germantown at the wrong time: Germantown suffered their first home loss of the season on Friday and they're likely out for redemption. They fell just short of the Hilltoppers by a score of 2-1. The game marked the Warhawks' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Germantown got a good showing from Tyson Baker, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Baker has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Germantown saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Doug Wagner, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Ty Olszewski also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Homestead). Everything went their way against West Bend East on Friday as they made off with a 9-2 victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Charlie Blume made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Homestead is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-11 otherwise. Blume was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.
In other pitching news, Lucas Wirth tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Homestead is 4-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 0-11 otherwise.
Back at the plate, Homestead let Ari Crabbe and Connor Pangallo run wild. Crabbe went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run, while Pangallo got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those two RBI gave Crabbe a new career-high.
Germantown's defeat dropped their record down to 10-4. As for Homestead, their victory bumped their record up to 4-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Germantown has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Homestead struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Germantown couldn't quite finish off Homestead in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 5-3. Can the Warhawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
