The Homer Trojans will venture away from home to challenge the Manchester Flying Dutchmen at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Homer is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Addison a 22-0 shutout on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Zak Smith was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Homer is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-4 otherwise. Smith was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, six RBI, and two runs. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.
Brock Butler
| 04/28/25 vs Addison | 4 |
| 04/26/25 vs Galesburg-Augusta | 3 |
| 04/17/25 vs Vandercook Lake | 3 |
| 04/14/25 @ East Jackson | 3 |
| 04/11/25 vs Hanover-Horton | 2 |
| + 2 more games |
In other batting news, Brock Butler was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI, four runs, and three doubles. Homer is 4-1 when Butler posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise. Xander Dubois was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and two RBI.
Homer always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .700. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Addison only posted an OBP of .273.
Manchester never got on the board in their matchup on Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against East Jackson on Monday. They put the hurt on the Trojans with a sharp 16-1 win. Considering the Flying Dutchmen's hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Neil Gebhardt made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Michael Navitskis, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Trent Line, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.
Homer is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for Manchester, they pushed their record up to 5-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Homer has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .492. However, it's not like Manchester struggles in that department as they've averaged .455. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
