The NorthWood Panthers are taking a road trip to square off against the Crown Point Bulldogs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (NorthWood 3.1, Crown Point 2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
NorthWood took a nine-run loss the last time they faced off against South Bend Saint Joseph, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Huskies 6-5 on Friday. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
The team relied heavily on Mason Bogan, who went 3-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. Connor Reed was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Crown Point). They were the clear victors by a 31-7 margin over Michigan City on Wednesday. The win was familiar territory for the Bulldogs, who have now won four games in a row.
Sean Dunlap was incredible, firing off two home runs, nine RBI, and three runs while going 4-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaxtyn Alexander, who got on base in all six of his plate appearances with four runs.
Crown Point always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .698. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .594 or higher in three consecutive contests.
NorthWood pushed their record up to 16-10 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 3.25 runs across that stretch. As for Crown Point, their record now sits at 23-4.
NorthWood couldn't quite finish off Crown Point in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 and fell 12-10. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
