Port Washington is 1-9 against Hartford since May of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Pirates will look to defend their home field against the Orioles at 4:45 p.m. The last three games Port Washington has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Port Washington fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against West Bend West on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Spartans by a score of 3-2. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Port Washington saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isaac Morgan, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Tuesday as neither Hartford nor Homestead made it on the board until the fifth inning. The Orioles' pitcher stepped up to hand the Highlanders a 7-0 shutout. The victory was familiar territory for the Orioles, who have now won three matchups in a row.
The result came thanks to Jack Perkowski's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up 11 Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Hartford is undefeated when he allows at most three earned runs, but 2-4 otherwise.
At the plate, Ethan Birkel was incredible, firing off two home runs and four RBI while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in runs (two). Another player making a difference was Joe Landgraf, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
Hartford kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Hartford's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Port Washington, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Port Washington has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hartford struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Port Washington suffered a grim 7-1 defeat to Hartford in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
