The New Holstein Huskies will face off against the Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. New Holstein's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three contests, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
On Thursday, New Holstein came up short against Chilton and fell 6-2. That's two games in a row now that the Huskies have lost by exactly four runs.
New Holstein saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Colton Doherty, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles.
Meanwhile, while Cedar Grove-Belgium put up some runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Sheboygan Area Lutheran. The Rockets put the hurt on the Crusaders with a sharp 10-0 victory. The Rockets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matches by seven runs or more this season.
Cedar Grove-Belgium also got a great performance from Seth Race as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Race a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
At the plate, Griffin Knight and Ira Hilbelink did most of the damage at the plate: Knight went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run, while Hilbelink went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double. Knight is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Carter Schmitz was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Cedar Grove-Belgium always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Cedar Grove-Belgium pushed their record up to 15-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for New Holstein, their loss dropped their record down to 10-10.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. New Holstein has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Cedar Grove-Belgium struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
New Holstein couldn't quite finish off Cedar Grove-Belgium when the teams last played back in May of 2018 and fell 4-2. Will the Huskies have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
