Union City and Knightstown are an even 3-3 against one another since May of 2018, but likely not for long. The Indians will welcome the Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Union City took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They put the hurt on Cambridge City Lincoln with a sharp 10-2 victory. The Indians haven't had any issues with the Golden Eagles recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive win against them.
Caleb Lutz was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Union City is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-8 otherwise. Lutz was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Brennan Hoggatt
| 05/07/25 vs Anderson Prep Academy | 3 |
| 05/15/25 vs Cambridge City Lincoln | 2 |
| 05/10/25 @ Randolph Southern | 2 |
| 05/14/25 @ Randolph Southern | 1 |
| 04/28/25 @ South Adams | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Lutz wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brennan Hoggatt, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Hoggatt is becoming a predictor of Union City's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-9 when he doesn't). Another was Luke Collins, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Knightstown came tearing into Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Vikings as they made off with a 14-2 victory. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won 13 contests by seven runs or more so far this season.
Andrew Buchanan looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jackson Daves, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played. Travis Louks was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Knightstown was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .423. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Blue River Valley only posted a batting average of .250.
Knightstown's win bumped their record up to 15-3. As for Union City, their victory bumped their record up to 7-9.
