Columbia City is 0-4 against Fort Wayne Northrop since May of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Columbia City Eagles have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins at 5:45 p.m. Columbia City is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, Columbia City came up short against Wawasee and fell 7-4.
Brady Schroeder made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Grayson Bradberry was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Fort Wayne Northrop can now show off 11 landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Fort Wayne South Side an 11-0 shutout. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Fort Wayne Northrop considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Pernell Whitsett made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. Whitsett has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances. Whitsett was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Fort Wayne Northrop let Jordan DeJesus and Landen Hirsch loose on the outfield. DeJesus went 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Hirsch scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Hirsch is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Sloniker, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Columbia City's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-10. As for Fort Wayne Northrop, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season.
Both both teams just can't seem to miss. Columbia City has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Fort Wayne Northrop struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.2. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Columbia City suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Fort Wayne Northrop when the teams last played back in May of 2022. Thankfully for Columbia City, Collin Horton (who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over six innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
