The West Liberty-Salem Tigers will head out on the road to square off against the Northwestern Warriors at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. West Liberty-Salem is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.
On Friday, West Liberty-Salem made easy work of Southeastern Local and carried off an 11-1 victory.
Isaac Sertell
| 04/11/25 vs Southeastern Local | 9 |
| 04/24/24 @ Triad | 6 |
| 03/27/24 vs Lehman Catholic | 4 |
| 04/09/24 vs West Jefferson | 2 |
| 04/05/24 vs Madison Plains | 2 |
Isaac Sertell and Jake Evans made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Sertell struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Evans struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Those nine strikeouts gave Sertell a new career-high. At bat, Sertell scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4, while Evans scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Evans is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's snagged at least one every time he's taken the field this season.
In other batting news, Caleb Hershberger and Jeremiah Johnson did most of the damage at the plate: Hershberger scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Johnson went 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most hits Hershberger has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Brodey Deam, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Northwestern came up short against Bellefontaine on Friday and fell 6-2. The Warriors have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Northwestern saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brayden Gochenouer, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
West Liberty-Salem's record now sits at 3-0. As for Northwestern, their loss dropped their record down to 4-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. West Liberty-Salem has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 13.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Northwestern struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went West Liberty-Salem's way against Northwestern when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as West Liberty-Salem made off with an 11-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
