Baseball Game Preview: Susquenita Blackhawks vs. Juniata Indians

The Susquenita Blackhawks will head out to square off against the Juniata Indians at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Susquenita is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.8 runs per game this season.

Susquenita took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They blew past East Juniata 15-0. Considering the Blackhawks have won six games by more than nine runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

Galen Wenrich

Stolen Base (Career)

04/23/25 vs East Juniata	3
04/21/25 @ Hanover	2
04/18/25 vs Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy	2
04/16/25 @ Greenwood	2
03/31/25 vs Juniata	2

Galen Wenrich was incredible, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and four runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Braden Hostetter, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Juniata posted their closest win since April 29, 2024 on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past East Juniata 4-3. The Indians haven't had any issues with the Tigers recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.

The team relied heavily on Gage Harlon, who went 1-for-2 with three stolen bases and one run. He has become a key player for Juniata: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 3-5-1 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Quentin Houtz, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one run.

Juniata now has a winning record of 6-5-1. As for Susquenita, their record now sits at 8-3.

Juniata's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Susquenita hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .321. It's a different story for Juniata, though, as they've only averaged .254. Will they be able to contain Susquenita's hitters?

Susquenita took their win against Juniata in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 12-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Blackhawks since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.