North East has gone 9-1 against Northwestern recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Grape Pickers will head out on the road to face off against the Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. North East is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.
Monday just wasn't the day for North East's offense. They fell just short of Corry by a score of 1-0 on Monday. The Grape Pickers' loss continues a trend for the team, making it three in a row.
Jerek Turlij
| 05/12/25 @ Corry | 15 |
| 05/05/25 vs Girard | 7 |
| 04/30/25 vs Conneaut Area | 14 |
| 04/23/25 vs Corry | 16 |
| 04/15/25 @ Girard | 16 |
| + 5 more games |
Jerek Turlij put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 15 over 5.2 innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in ten consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Turlij wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Colton Owens, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Northwestern came into Tuesday's matchup having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They won by a run and slipped past Youngsville 12-11.
Like North East, Northwestern also got a great game from a two-way player: Zac Johnson. He struck out seven batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits. Johnson was also stellar in the batter's box, going 4-for-5 with three runs. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Northwestern got a massive performance out of Kaleb Stout, who got on base in five of his six plate appearances with three runs, two RBI, and one double. The dominant performance also gave Stout a new career-high in hits (three). Another player making a difference was Joe Schaukowitsch, who went 3-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, and one stolen base.
Northwestern kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 20 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.5 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 8.8.
Northwestern's record is now 4-12. As for North East, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-5.
Everything went North East's way against Northwestern in their previous matchup back in April, as North East made off with a 13-3 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Grape Pickers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
