Ottawa-Glandorf hasn't had much luck against Defiance recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Titans will head out on the road to square off against the Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Ottawa-Glandorf barely beat Fort Jennings the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Titans never let the Musketeers get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory on Monday. The Titans not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since April 9, 2024.
Nolan Duling looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, Jayden Steckshulte was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. That run was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Grant Leopold, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Defiance strolled into their game on Thursday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They blew past Genoa Area 15-3.
Garyson Smiddy looked comfortable as he struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Defiance let Brady Borton and Logan Hutcheson run wild. Borton went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Hutcheson scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. That's the most runs Hutcheson has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Cody Shaw, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Defiance was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .542. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in four consecutive matchups dating back to last season.
Defiance's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Ottawa-Glandorf, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ottawa-Glandorf has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Defiance struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ottawa-Glandorf suffered a grim 8-1 defeat to Defiance when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Titans avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
