The NorthWood Panthers will challenge the Fairfield Falcons at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
NorthWood is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Columbia City, sneaking past 8-6.
Nate Dutkowski
| 05/28/25 vs Columbia City | 6 |
| 05/23/25 vs South Bend Saint Joseph | 2 |
| 05/16/25 @ Mishawaka | 1 |
| 05/09/25 vs Northridge | 6 |
Nate Dutkowski was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits (and only one walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted over his last four games. He was also solid in the batter's box, earning two runs and three stolen bases.
In other batting news, Mason Warren was excellent, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April. Nathan Shrock was another key player, going 2-for-5 with four RBI.
Meanwhile, Fairfield sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 win over Wawasee on Wednesday. The victory continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won five in a row.
The team relied heavily on Drew Beachy, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Garrett Stoltzfus, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run.
NorthWood's win bumped their record up to 17-12. As for Fairfield, their victory bumped their record up to 19-8.
NorthWood took their win against Fairfield when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 17-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
