An exciting East v. West battle is about to be fought. The West Bend West Spartans will challenge the West Bend East Suns at 4:45 p.m. on Monday. West Bend West's pitching crew has only allowed 2.9 runs per game this season, so West Bend East's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
West Bend West will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Fond du Lac, who they had gone 0-3 against in their three prior meetings. The Spartans never let the Cardinals get on the board and left with a 3-0 victory on Saturday. While the Spartans didn't have the best season last year (they finished 3-24), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Colin Grass tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over six innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, West Bend West's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Chase Abresch, who went 1-for-3 with one run. Colton Steinmetz also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Meanwhile, West Bend East was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-4 heartbreaker at the hands of Nicolet.
Colton Multerer put in work while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits. Multerer was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs. He has become a key player for West Bend East: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-7 otherwise.
West Bend West is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.1 runs on average over those games. As for West Bend East, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8.
West Bend West's speedy runners might be the difference in Monday's game. The Spartans have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for West Bend East, though, as they've been averaging only 0.9 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will West Bend West continue to outrun the ball?
West Bend West might still be hurting after the 7-1 defeat they got from West Bend East when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Spartans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
