The Howland Tigers will square off against the Columbiana Clippers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Last Monday, Howland got the win against Salem by a conclusive 14-1. Considering the Tigers have won three games by more than 11 runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Steven Bubon
| 04/07/25 @ Salem | 1 |
| 03/31/25 @ Austintown-Fitch | 1 |
| 03/28/25 vs William Blount | 1 |
Howland got a great performance from Steven Bubon as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk). Bubon is becoming a predictor of the Tigers' success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 2-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't).
On the hitting side, Howland let Dominic Santee and Keaton Perry run wild. Santee scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Perry went 3-for-4 with five RBI, one run, and one double. Santee has become a key player for Howland: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-3 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Kovarik, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3.
Howland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. They are 3-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Columbiana beat David Anderson 8-5 on Wednesday.
Nick Klindworth looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Avery Young, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ethan Lehnerd, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Howland's win bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Columbiana, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Howland beat Columbiana 5-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Clippers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
