The Maconaquah Braves will challenge the Whitko Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The timing isn't great for Maconaquah: they have been struggling with three straight losses at home, while Whitko has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.
On Wednesday, Maconaquah didn't have quite enough to beat Manchester and fell 5-4.
Blayklee Buman put in work while hitting and pitching. She tossed six innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, Shaela Brazzel was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one triple and one run.
While Whitko didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They were the clear victors by a 13-1 margin over Fort Wayne Snider on Saturday. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by ten runs or more this season.
Taylor Long was incredible, going 2-for-3 with four stolen bases and three runs. Those four stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Hannah Long, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Whitko was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .458. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fort Wayne Snider only posted a batting average of .111.
Whitko has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Maconaquah, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.
Both Maconaquah and Whitko just can't seem to miss. The Braves have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. However, it's not like Whitko struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Maconaquah's way against Whitko in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Maconaquah made off with a 10-0 victory. Do the Braves have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
