The Harper Creek Beavers will head out on the road to take on the Portage Central Mustangs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Harper Creek's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Portage Central's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Harper Creek's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They walked away with a 3-0 victory over Coldwater. The Beavers haven't had any issues with the Cardinals recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Portage Central not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 27, 2024 (when they won 10-0). They blew past Buchanan 11-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Mustangs.
Cooper Martinson looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Portage Central got a massive performance out of Rylan McNally, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those three RBI gave McNally a new career-high. Nolan Bloomquist was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI.
Portage Central's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-19. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Harper Creek, their record now sits at 14-6-1.
Harper Creek couldn't quite get it done against Portage Central in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 9-6. Can the Beavers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
