The Manitowoc Lincoln Ships will venture away from home to face off against the Winneconne Wolves at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Manitowoc Lincoln is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.6 runs per game this season.
Manitowoc Lincoln will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they didn't score any runs on Monday, then bounced right back against Sheboygan South on Wednesday. The Ships blew past the Redwings 13-3. Considering the Ships have won five games by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Gabe Eichmann
| 04/30/25 vs Sheboygan South | 4 |
| 04/23/25 vs Notre Dame Academy | 2 |
| 04/14/25 vs Denmark | 2 |
| 04/12/25 vs Sheboygan North | 2 |
| 04/27/24 vs Ripon | 1 |
Gabe Eichmann made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched four innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four). He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Alex Gill was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Benson Dickrell, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, Winneconne had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-2 victory over the Chiefs.
The team relied heavily on Colson Kleinschmidt, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Broderick Stille was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one double.
Winneconne was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .345 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Manitowoc Lincoln pushed their record up to 11-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Winneconne, their record is now 8-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Manitowoc Lincoln has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Winneconne struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Manitowoc Lincoln was able to grind out a solid win over Winneconne in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 16-13. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Ships since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
