vs
| 04/20/24 - Home | 17-1 W |
| 04/22/23 - Away | 21-11 W |
| 04/23/22 - Home | 9-1 W |
| 05/25/17 - Neutral | 2-1 W |
| 05/25/16 - Neutral | 10-4 W |
| 04/28/15 - Home | 6-4 W |
Northwestern is a perfect 6-0 against Maconaquah since April of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Braves at 5:30 p.m. Northwestern's pitching crew has only allowed 3.5 runs per game this season, so Maconaquah's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Northwestern's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Monday's struggle, when Peru hitters got past them. Northwestern took a 10-6 hit to the loss column at the hands of Peru on Monday. Northwestern's defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Teegan Helmle and Landen Begley did some serious damage despite the final result: Helmle went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Begley got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs. Michael Arrick was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Maconaquah, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Northfield a 5-0 shutout on Monday. The Braves haven't had any issues with the Norsemen recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive victory against them.
Bennett Isenburg made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over five innings pitched. Isenburg was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kobe Bowman, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Jack Gochenhour, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Maconaquah pushed their record up to 13-7 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Northwestern, their loss dropped their record down to 17-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northwestern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Maconaquah 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.
Northwestern took their win against Maconaquah when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 17-1 score. 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.
