The Cherokee Chiefs will venture away from home to square off against the Shawnee Renegades at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Cherokee is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Cherokee proved they can win big on Saturday (they won by eight) and on Monday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 victory over Lenape. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Chiefs have posted since April 23rd.
Joshua Litsky
| 05/05/25 vs Lenape | 1 |
| 04/25/25 @ Ocean City | 1 |
| 04/17/25 @ Washington Township | 0 |
Joshua Litsky tossed a big game, striking out nine batters over six innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Brett Jackson was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Jason Brown, who went 1-for-2 with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Shawnee came up short against Eastern on Monday and fell 7-2. The Renegades haven't had much luck with the Vikings recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Shawnee saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chris Ahrens, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Cherokee's victory was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 18-0. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Shawnee, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-8.
Shawnee's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cherokee hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .347. It's a different story for Shawnee, though, as they've only averaged .229. Will they be able to contain Cherokee's hitters?
Cherokee skirted past Shawnee 5-4 in their previous matchup back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chiefs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
