The Fairfield Falcons will head out to challenge the NorthWood Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Fairfield will be strutting in after a victory while NorthWood will be coming in after a loss.
Fairfield's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They came out on top against Angola by a score of 4-0. The win continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Hornets: they've now won four in a row.
Grady Garber
| 04/17/25 vs Angola | 5 |
| 04/12/25 vs South Central | 3 |
| 04/04/25 vs South Bend Adams | 1 |
| 04/20/24 vs Concord | 1 |
| 04/12/24 vs NorthWood | 1 |
Grady Garber was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one triple.
Garber wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Garrett Stoltzfus, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. That's the most hits Stoltzfus has posted since back in April of 2024. Drew Beachy was another, going 2-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Fairfield was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when NorthWood faced off against Elkhart on Thursday. The Panthers fell just short of the Lions by a score of 5-4. The loss was the Panthers' first of the season.
Connor Reed spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
On the hitting side, Nate Dutkowski was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI. Brody Rondeau also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Fairfield pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games. As for NorthWood, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Fairfield has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .444. However, it's not like NorthWood struggles in that department as they've averaged .438. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
