Northern is 6-0 against Hancock since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Northern Huskies will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hancock Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, Northern earned a 6-1 victory over Varsity Opponent. The win made it back-to-back victories for Northern.
Northern let Cole Folk and Wally Brands loose on the outfield. Folk scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Brands went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs. Kyle Broadwater was another key contributor, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with a triple and an RBI.
Meanwhile, Hancock entered their tilt with Forbes Road with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They walked away with a 6-1 win over Forbes Road on Friday.
Blaire Ray was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Ray has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Ray was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and two RBI.
In other batting news, Hancock let Shawn Thomas and Tyler Clingerman loose on the outfield. Thomas scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3, while Clingerman went 1-for-3 with a home run.
The victory got Northern back to even at 7-7. As for Hancock, they pushed their record up to 7-8 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Northern has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hancock struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Northern beat Hancock 4-1 when the teams last played back in March. Does Northern have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hancock turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps