The Hermon Hawks will venture away from home to challenge the Nokomis Warriors at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Hermon's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Nokomis' hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Things were looking good for Hermon after they put the first run on the board on Monday, but unfortunately for them things went downhill from there. They fell just short of Brewer by a score of 2-1. The Hawks haven't had much luck with the Witches recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, the third road game was the charm for Nokomis, as they earned their first away victory of the season. They were the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over Belfast on Wednesday. Considering the Warriors have won three matches by more than six runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Seth Bowden made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Bowden was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Owen Menard was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Tom Nyce, who went 2-for-5 with two runs and one RBI.
Nokomis kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
The win got Nokomis back to even at 4-4. As for Hermon, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-4.
Nokomis' hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Hermon has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Nokomis, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 strikeouts. Will Hermon keep running through batters, or will the Warriors buck the trend?
Hermon was able to grind out a solid victory over Nokomis in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 6-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
