The Prairie Heights Panthers will take on the Lakeland Lakers at 12:00 p.m. on Monday. Prairie Heights will be strutting in after a win while Lakeland will be coming in after a defeat.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Prairie Heights turned things around against Fort Wayne Bishop Luers on Saturday. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over the Knights.
Hayley Hardy made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits. Hardy was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two doubles. That's the most RBI she has posted over her last six matchups.
In other batting news, Addison Wells was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Emily McCrea, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Prairie Heights was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Fort Wayne Bishop Luers only posted a batting average of .267.
Meanwhile, Lakeland was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 9-3 to DeKalb.
Lakeland saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kylee Waldron, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Prairie Heights' win bumped their record up to 7-17. As for Lakeland, their loss dropped their record down to 6-18.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Prairie Heights has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lakeland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Prairie Heights might still be hurting after the 18-9 defeat they got from Lakeland in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
