Baseball Recap: Make It Five in a Row for Mattawan

Wildcats

Margin (Wins)

04/17/25 vs St. Joseph	15
04/09/25 vs Berrien Springs	15
05/08/25 vs Portage Northern	10
05/08/25 vs Portage Northern	10
05/10/25 vs Buchanan	9

Mattawan had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Saturday. They never let the Buchanan Bucks get on the board and left with a 9-0 win. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by six runs or more this season.

Nathan Fowler made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

In other pitching news, Kellan Wilder looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.

Back at the plate, Mattawan let Preston Shackelford and Patrick Dougherty run wild. Shackelford went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Dougherty went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Dougherty is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Matthew Dumler also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Mattawan hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Buchanan struck out six times.

Mattawan pushed their record up to 19-3-4 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Buchanan, they have been struggling recently as they've lost 12 of their last 14 contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-15 record this season.

Mattawan will welcome Kalamazoo Christian at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. As for Buchanan, they are taking a road trip to challenge Portage Central at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.