The McCutcheon Mavericks will challenge the North Central Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
McCutcheon is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 12 runs on Saturday, they were much more limited against Kokomo on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Wildkats by a score of 3-2.
Jake Winger was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run. That stolen base marked the first that he has snagged this season.
Meanwhile, North Central was not the first on the board on Wednesday, but they got there more often. They blew past Pike 9-3. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won four matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Tristan Wilson looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Rykin Matthias, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Christian Kropa, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
North Central has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for McCutcheon, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
Thursday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. McCutcheon hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .316. However, it's not like North Central struggles in that department as they've averaged .321. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
