The Northfield Nighthawks will venture away from home to challenge the Lutheran Lions at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Northfield is coming into the contest hot, having won their last nine games.
Northfield is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Overland a 28-0 shutout on Saturday. The Nighthawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matches by six runs or more this season.
Charlie Hayes
| 04/12/25 @ Overland | 2 |
| 03/21/25 vs Fort Morgan | 2 |
| 03/19/25 vs George Washington | 1 |
| 03/15/25 @ Grandview | 1 |
Charlie Hayes looked comfortable as he pitched 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 hits any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Northfield got a massive performance out of Henry Luther, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and three runs. Those four hits gave Luther a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jack Phiel, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, five RBI, and three runs.
Northfield kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lutheran's hitters rose to the challenge against a Thunder pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.9 runs allowed on Thursday. The Lions put the hurt on Discovery Canyon with a sharp 16-9 win. The Lions haven't had any issues with the Thunder recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
Ryan McDougal made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 2.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits (and only one walk). McDougal was even better at the plate, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jack Wesolowski, who fired off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Anthony Misch, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Northfield's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.0 runs over those games. As for Lutheran, their record now sits at 8-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Northfield hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Lutheran struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Northfield might still be hurting after the 19-7 defeat they got from Lutheran when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Nighthawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
