Baseball Game Preview: Howland Tigers vs. LaBrae Vikings

Tigers

Runs

04/17/25 @ Boardman	2
04/14/25 vs Boardman	2
04/07/25 @ Salem	14
04/03/25 vs West Branch	13
03/31/25 @ Austintown-Fitch	17
+ 4 more games

The Howland Tigers will head out on the road to face off against the LaBrae Vikings at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Howland is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

Howland is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest defeat since April 16, 2024 on Thursday. They fell just short of Boardman by a score of 4-2. The Tigers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Howland saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brayden Kovarik, who went 2-for-4 with one run and one double. That double marked the first that Kovarik has hit this season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for LaBrae, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Monday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 1-0 victory over Newton Falls on Thursday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Not much got past Austin Rowe, who gave up just four hits to keep Newton Falls off the board. Rowe has been consistent: he hasn't given up a single earned run in five consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Easton Armstrong was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one triple and one run. Those two hits gave him a new career-high.

LaBrae's win was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for Howland, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.

Howland was able to grind out a solid win over LaBrae when the teams last played back in May of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tigers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.