The McDowell Trojans will head out to face off against the Hickory Hornets at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. McDowell is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games.
Hickory's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Thursday: McDowell hadn't allowed a single run the last five times they've hit the field. The Trojans' pitcher stepped up to hand Erie a 12-0 shutout on Tuesday. Considering the Trojans have won 11 contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Gabriella Deluca
| 05/13/25 vs Erie | 2 |
| 05/09/25 vs General McLane | 1 |
| 04/28/25 vs Fort LeBoeuf | 1 |
| 04/22/25 @ Erie | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs Corry | 1 |
Gabriella Deluca made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 17 over six innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one walk in 16 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two triples, and three runs. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Avya Mickel, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That home run was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Madyalyn Matlock, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
McDowell always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .586. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Erie only posted an OBP of .190.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Tuesday Hickory sidestepped Grove City for a 1-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hornets.
Not much got past AJ Jarzab, who gave up just a hit and racked up 16 Ks to keep Grove City off the board.
On the hitting side, Hickory saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Layla McClung, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one double.
McDowell's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-2. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.1 runs over those games. As for Hickory, the win got them back to even at 9-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. McDowell hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Hickory struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
McDowell couldn't quite finish off Hickory in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Trojans avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
