The Eisenhower Tigers will venture away from home to take on the Northwest Grizzlies at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Eisenhower's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Northwest's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Salina Central hit Eisenhower with a five-run fourth inning back in April, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Tigers came up short against the Mustangs, falling 8-1. The match marked the Tigers' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Eisenhower saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kylie Hahn, who went 3-for-4 with one double. Aubrey Brunswig also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Northwest entered their tilt with West on Thursday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They never let the Pioneers get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Grizzlies, who have now won 11 games by eight runs or more so far this season.
Lilly Hoffman made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two hits in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
In other batting news, Tharon Thomas was a standout: she got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Kam Stubbs, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles.
Northwest always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .741. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Northwest's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-9. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for Eisenhower, with the defeat, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 3-2.
Thursday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Eisenhower hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .317. However, it's not like Northwest struggles in that department as they've averaged .364. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Eisenhower's way against Northwest when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Eisenhower made off with a 19-8 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
