The Mishawaka Cavemen will face off against the Elkhart Lions at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Mishawaka 3.5, Elkhart 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Mishawaka took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with an 8-5 victory over NorthWood. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Mishawaka got a great performance from Drew Ginter as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Gage Spychalski, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Shawn Nowacki, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Elkhart hadn't done well against Mishawaka Marian recently (they were 0-7 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Lions' pitchers stepped up to hand the Knights a 7-0 shutout. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by seven runs or more this season.
Quinn Rost made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Elkhart is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 7-8 otherwise. Rost was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
In other batting news, Max Shreiner was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Elkhart's success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is undefeated (and 7-8 when he doesn't).
Mishawaka's win bumped their record up to 14-7. As for Elkhart, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 12-8.
Mishawaka came up short against Elkhart in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, falling 5-1. Will the Cavemen have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
