The Hazleton Area Cougars will venture away from home to challenge the Palisades Pirates at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Hazleton Area has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Palisades will arrive with six straight wins.
Cumberland Valley hit Hazleton Area with a six-run fifth inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Cougars came up short against the Eagles, falling 10-2.
Kayla Lagowy was cooking despite her team's loss, firing off three doubles, two runs, and one triple while going 4-for-4.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Palisades). They blew past Catasauqua 20-0 on Thursday. Considering the Pirates have won 11 matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Karlye Teman was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and three RBI. Those four runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Palisades got a massive performance out of Catie Russo, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Fiona Kelleher was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
Palisades kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 23 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Palisades' victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.3 runs over those games. As for Hazleton Area, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
Hazleton Area couldn't quite get it done against Palisades when the teams last played back in April of 2024 as they fell 9-5. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
