Washington Township and Kouts are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2019, but likely not for long. The Senators will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mustangs & Fillies at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Washington Township and Lake Station Edison meet (three straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Saturday. The Senators were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over the Fighting Eagles. The Senators haven't had any issues with the Fighting Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Wyatt Kintzele was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Connor Parks
| 05/17/25 @ Lake Station Edison | 3 |
| 05/15/25 vs Whiting | 2 |
| 04/23/25 @ Knox | 2 |
| 04/21/25 vs Hebron | 2 |
| 05/16/25 vs Kankakee Valley | 1 |
In other batting news, Connor Parks was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Drew Horvath, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Washington Township always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Kouts had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it eight on Saturday. Everything went their way against the Spartans as they made off with a 16-2 win. Considering the Mustangs & Fillies have won 15 contests by more than eight runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Washington Township, Kouts also got a great game from a two-way player: Noah Gudeman. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Gudeman has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, Billy Miller and Cooper Whitaker did most of the damage at the plate: Miller went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Whitaker went 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double. That home run marked the first that Whitaker has launched this season. Landon Garrett was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs and one triple.
Kouts pushed their record up to 19-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.0 runs over those games. As for Washington Township, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Washington Township has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Kouts struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Washington Township suffered a grim 16-5 defeat to Kouts in their previous matchup last Friday. Will the Senators have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
