NorthWood is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Elkhart is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Panthers will host the Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Monday, NorthWood made easy work of West Noble and carried off an 11-1 win.
Mason Warren
| 04/14/25 vs West Noble | 3 |
| 04/01/25 vs Mishawaka Marian | 2 |
| 05/27/24 vs West Noble | 2 |
| 04/03/25 vs South Bend Adams | 1 |
| 06/01/24 vs Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger | 1 |
NorthWood let Mason Warren and Connor Reed run wild. Warren scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-1, while Reed scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Those three stolen bases gave Warren a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Landon Perry, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two stolen bases.
NorthWood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Noble only posted an OBP of .360.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Elkhart took on South Bend Riley on Wednesday. The Lions put the hurt on the Wildcats with a sharp 15-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won five contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Brady Kelly and Quinn Rost were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Kelly pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Rost didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over four innings pitched. Kelly has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Kelly scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances, while Rost scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That stolen base was Kelly's first of the season.
In other batting news, Max Shreiner was incredible, firing off two home runs, seven RBI, and four runs while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Sherwood, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Elkhart's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for NorthWood, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
Everything went NorthWood's way against Elkhart in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as NorthWood made off with a 14-8 win. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
