North Union extended their losing streak to seven on Wednesday, dropping them down to 3-17. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost an 8-7 heartbreaker at the hands of the Northwestern Warriors. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Warriors this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 2-0 on Monday.
Brooks Wills made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 4-for-4 with five stolen bases, four runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Greyson Bledsoe, who went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
As for Northwestern, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-13. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games.
On Northwestern's side, Reid Smith made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Smith also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Northwestern is 4-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 3-11 otherwise. Smith was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cohlton Hughes, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Taylor, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
North Union and Northwestern could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings. The Wildcats (ranked 553rd) will meet Bellefontaine (ranked 256th) at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Northwestern will square off against Kenton Ridge at 5:15 p.m. on Friday with a big rank disadvantage (519 vs. 18).
