The Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs will take on the Akron Rams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Akron will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: Haxtun extended their winning streak to four on Monday. The Fightin' Bulldogs blew past Sedgwick County 17-4.
Madden Larsen and Ryland Wolff did most of the damage at the plate: Larsen went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple, while Wolff scored four runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits Larsen has posted since back in April of 2024. Braden Plumb also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Akron had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10.6 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Tuesday. They never let the Dragons get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory.
Alex Bowin made a big impact no matter where he played. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anderson Filla, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Caleb Poss, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2.
Akron always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .633. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .579 or higher in four consecutive contests.
Akron pushed their record up to 12-2 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Haxtun, their record now sits at 10-2.
Haxtun came out on top in a nail-biter against Akron when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 13-12. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Fightin' Bulldogs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
