Fort Wayne Northrop and Homestead are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2017, but likely not for long. The Bruins will host the Spartans at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Fort Wayne Northrop's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 12-0 margin over Fort Wayne South Side. The win continues a trend for the Bruins in their matchups with the Archers: they've now won eight in a row.
Brilee Day made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Day was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles.
Kamea Sanchez
| 04/23/25 vs Fort Wayne South Side | 4 |
| 05/01/24 @ Fort Wayne North Side | 3 |
| 04/24/24 @ Fort Wayne Wayne | 3 |
| 04/18/25 @ Leo | 2 |
| 05/21/24 vs DeKalb | 2 |
In other batting news, Kamea Sanchez was a standout: she went a perfect 1-for-1 with four RBI, one run, and one double. Those four RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Makenzie Key, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs and two RBI.
Fort Wayne Northrop hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in nine consecutive games dating back to last season.
While Homestead didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They were the clear victors by an 11-4 margin over Norwell on Friday. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by seven runs or more this season.
Macy Arnold looked comfortable as she tossed four innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Homestead let Addi Adams and Olivia Schultheis run wild. Adams went 1-for-3 with three RBI and one run, while Schultheis went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Taylor Sanders was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Homestead has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Fort Wayne Northrop, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Fort Wayne Northrop hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Homestead struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Fort Wayne Northrop skirted past Homestead 5-3 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will the Bruins repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
