The Homestead Highlanders will head out on the road to square off against the Germantown Warhawks at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Homestead will be strutting in after a victory while Germantown will be coming in after a defeat.
Homestead is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over West Bend East on Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Charlie Blume
| 05/09/25 vs West Bend East | 3 |
| 05/05/25 vs Cedarburg | 2 |
| 04/28/25 vs Whitefish Bay | 2 |
| 04/22/25 vs Hartford | 2 |
| 04/11/25 vs University School of Milwaukee | 2 |
Charlie Blume made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Homestead is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-11 otherwise. Blume was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.
In other pitching news, Homestead got a great performance from Lucas Wirth as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Wirth also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because the Highlanders are 4-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 0-11 otherwise.
Back at the plate, Ari Crabbe and Connor Pangallo did most of the damage at the plate: Crabbe went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run, while Pangallo got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those two hits gave Crabbe a new career-high. Joe Simon also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Meanwhile, Germantown entered their contest against Marquette University on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Warhawks fell just short of the Hilltoppers by a score of 2-1. The game marked the Warhawks' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Germantown also got a good showing from Tyson Baker, who pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Baker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Germantown saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Doug Wagner, who went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Germantown suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 10-4. As for Homestead, their record now sits at 4-12.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Homestead has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Germantown struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Homestead came out on top in a nail-biter against Germantown in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, sneaking past 5-3. Will the Highlanders repeat their success, or do the Warhawks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
