The Wilmington Wildcats will head out on the road to take on the Sandwich Indians at 4:40 p.m. on Thursday. Wilmington's pitching crew has only allowed 2.7 runs per game this season, so Sandwich's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Wilmington's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Coal City hitters got past them. The Wildcats fell 10-7 to the Coalers on Tuesday. Wildcats fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Coalers since on Tuesday.
Declan Moran made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Lucas Rink, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases and one double.
Meanwhile, Sandwich entered their tilt with Richmond-Burton on Wednesday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Rockets. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Indians have posted since April 8th.
Braden Behringer spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up eight Ks. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Sandwich is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 6-8 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Griffin Somlock, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Sandwich was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Wilmington's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 7-1 and their overall record down to 11-7. As for Sandwich, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Wilmington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Sandwich struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Wilmington beat Sandwich 6-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
