The Lena-Winslow Panthers will square off against the Orangeville Broncos at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Lena-Winslow fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Galena on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Pirates by a score of 5-4. The Panthers' defeat signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.
Cohen Weegens put in work no matter where he played. He pitched 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-5 with one stolen base and one run.
In other batting news, Maverick Cass made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one run. Ashton Gerber was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one run and one double.
Meanwhile, Orangeville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 13-9 hit to the loss column at the hands of Ashton-Franklin Center.
Like Lena-Winslow, Orangeville also got a great game from a two-way player: Boden Gustafson. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Gustafson was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Orangeville got a big performance out of Brian Dittmar, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Kayden Pfieffer, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
Orangeville's defeat dropped their record down to 1-10. As for Lena-Winslow, their loss dropped their record down to 12-4-1.
Orangeville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lena-Winslow hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .333. It's a different story for Orangeville, though, as they've only averaged .194. Will they be able to contain Lena-Winslow's hitters?
Everything went Lena-Winslow's way against Orangeville in their previous meeting on Tuesday, as Lena-Winslow made off with a 22-2 victory. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Broncos turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
