The Lena-Winslow Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the River Ridge/Scales Mound Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Lena-Winslow has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
On Saturday, it was close, but Lena-Winslow sidestepped Riverton for a 6-5 win. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by just one run.
Aiden Wild made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other pitching news, Khayne Albright 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 one walk in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Koby Kearns, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Cohen Weegens, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, River Ridge/Scales Mound had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.4 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Saturday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Clippers a 3-0 shutout. That's two games straight that the Wildcats have won by exactly three runs.
River Ridge/Scales Mound saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kaden Duerr, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one double. Damon Dittmar was another, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Lena-Winslow is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-3-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.5 runs on average over those games. As for River Ridge/Scales Mound, they pushed their record up to 7-5 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
River Ridge/Scales Mound's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lena-Winslow hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .322. It's a different story for River Ridge/Scales Mound, though, as they've only averaged .256. Will they be able to contain Lena-Winslow's hitters?
Everything went Lena-Winslow's way against River Ridge/Scales Mound in their previous meeting back in March, as Lena-Winslow made off with a 10-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
