The Northwestern Bulls will head out on the road to square off against the Dr. Krop Lightning at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Northwestern will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
On Thursday, Northwestern was able to grind out a solid victory over Northeast, taking the game 9-4.
Darrius Pender was incredible, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. J. Williams was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Dr. Krop). Everything went their way against American on Thursday as Dr. Krop made off with a 15-1 win. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Lightning as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.
Marco Loreto made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Loreto was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Myles Green and Randy Mercedes did most of the damage at the plate: Green scored two runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Mercedes scored two runs and stole Four bases. while going 2-for-5. Those four stolen bases gave Green a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Esaul Pena, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Dr. Krop kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Northwestern pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Dr. Krop, their record is now 4-9.
Dr. Krop's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Northwestern hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .376. It's a different story for Dr. Krop, though, as they've only averaged .251. Will they be able to contain Northwestern's hitters?
Northwestern beat Dr. Krop 9-6 in their previous meeting back in February of 2021. Will Northwestern repeat their success, or does Dr. Krop have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
