Forest Hills Northern dropped their record down to 9-9 on Wednesday, which also ended the team's five-game streak of wins at home. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the East Grand Rapids Pioneers. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Huskies of the 6-0 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in May of 2023.
Cory Smiewec
| 04/16/25 @ Forest Hills Eastern | 5 |
| 05/07/25 vs East Grand Rapids | 1 |
Cory Smiewec was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. He has become a key player for Forest Hills Northern: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 7-8 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Forest Hills Northern saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mateo Rodriguez, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base. Rodriguez 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.
As for East Grand Rapids, the victory was the tenth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 16-1-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games.
On East Grand Rapids' side, Will Hoefer made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Hoefer was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That double was his first of the season.
In other pitching news, Callan Royce tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out six over six innings pitched.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Josh McCune, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: East Grand Rapids beat Forest Hills Northern by a score of 4-0 later that day.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
