The Ithaca Yellowjackets will face off against the Hemlock Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ithaca has six straight victories, Hemlock has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
The home team had won the previous five meetings between Ithaca and Nouvel Catholic Central, and Ithaca kept the tradition alive. The Yellowjackets came out on top in a nail-biter against the Panthers on Monday, sneaking past 7-6.
Carsen Shankel was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2025. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Shankel wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Greyson Merchant, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run. That's the most stolen bases Merchant has posted since back in April of 2025. Wylie Martyn also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Hemlock fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Valley Lutheran on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Chargers by a score of 3-2.
Hemlock's defeat dropped their record down to 5-5. As for Ithaca, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.
Ithaca skirted past Hemlock 1-0 in their previous meeting on Friday. Will the Yellowjackets repeat their success, or do the Huskies have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
