The Fishers Tigers will face off against the Westfield Shamrocks at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Fishers 3.7, Westfield 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Fishers is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Zionsville, sneaking past 5-4. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Reid Garber looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up a single earned run any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Deagan Repp was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and three RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Mayo Fernandez, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, Westfield faced Carmel in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Shamrocks never let the Greyhounds get on the board and left with a 5-0 win.
Carmel's batters probably weren't too happy with Luke Collinsworth, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 11 Ks (he gave up six walks). With that strong performance, Collinsworth is now averaging an impressive 5.4 strikeouts per game.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Gavin Russ, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lincoln Hoffman, who got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one run.
Westfield has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Fishers, their win bumped their record up to 25-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fishers has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Westfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fishers skirted past Westfield 9-8 in their previous matchup back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
