The Lena-Winslow Panthers are taking a road trip to take on the Pearl City Wolves at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Lena-Winslow easily dispatched Orangeville on Thursday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Panthers fell just short of Forreston by a score of 13-11 on Monday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Panthers have suffered against the Cardinals since May 6, 2017.
Miles Mahon was cooking despite his team's loss, firing off three home runs, five runs, and five RBI while going 4-for-4. Landon Grindey also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Pearl City ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They walked away with an 11-8 victory over Dakota. Winning may never get old, but the Wolves sure are getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Jared Runkle made a splash no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 6.2 innings pitched. Runkle was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Pearl City let Kip Martens and Myles Freedlund run wild. Martens got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double, while Freedlund went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Freedlund has become a key player for Pearl City: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three RBI, but 6-7 otherwise. Jacob Runkle was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Pearl City kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least ten hits in five consecutive contests.
Pearl City pushed their record up to 11-7 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.0 runs over those games. As for Lena-Winslow, their loss dropped their record down to 13-5-1.
Tuesday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Lena-Winslow hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .334. However, it's not like Pearl City struggles in that department as they've averaged .349. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Lena-Winslow came out on top in a nail-biter against Pearl City in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 8-7. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wolves turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
