The Homestead Highlanders will head out on the road to challenge the Grafton Black Hawks at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Homestead is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
On Monday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Homestead had to settle for a 5-4 defeat against Whitefish Bay.
Paul Nuetzel put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over 6.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off six hits. Nuetzel has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances. Nuetzel was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI.
In other batting news, Griffin Bowers was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 4-for-5. Another player making a difference was Grant Poindexter, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Homestead didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 11 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Whitefish Bay only tossed seven.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Monday Grafton sidestepped Port Washington for a 2-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Grafton.
Sam Cameranesi looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Tyler Tagliapietra was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
Homestead's loss dropped their record down to 9-12. As for Grafton, their victory bumped their record up to 8-15.
Homestead's speedy runners might be the difference in Wednesday's match. Homestead has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Grafton, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Homestead continue to outrun the ball?
Homestead skirted past Grafton 8-6 in their previous matchup back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Grafton's Colin Haldeman, who went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI, and a run. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Homestead still be able to contain Haldeman? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
