The El Capitan Vaqueros will be taking part in a tournament against the Madison Warhawks at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Madison will be up against a hot El Capitan team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. El Capitan came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 6-5 W against Christian.
Landon Harbach made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Branden Hawkins, who scored a run while going 3-for-4. Matthew Eckis was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
El Capitan kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Christian only managed seven hits.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Madison, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They skirted past Valhalla 2-1. The two-run effort marked the Warhawks' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Jeremiah Jennings spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up nine Ks. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, Madison saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Leo Wilderman, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one double. That's the most hits Wilderman has posted since back in March of 2024.
Madison pushed their record up to 4-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 10.33 hits in those games compared to only 4.75 in the others. As for El Capitan, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. El Capitan has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Madison struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 3.9 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
El Capitan came out on top in a nail-biter against Madison in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, sneaking past 9-7. Does El Capitan have another victory up their sleeve, or will Madison turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
