The Greenville Yellow Jackets will square off against the Sparta Spartans at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Greenville will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
While Greenville didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 12-7 victory over Cedar Springs on Thursday. That's two games straight that the Yellow Jackets have won by exactly five runs.
Greenville got a massive performance out of Aubrie Uebele, who went 3-for-5 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Alexa Hyler was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Greenville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sparta). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Whitehall a 19-0 shutout on Friday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Spartans with their most commanding win of the season.
Ali Crum was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI, and two runs. Those three doubles gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aubrey Sidlauskas, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
Sparta is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Greenville, their victory bumped their record up to 10-5.
Sparta's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Greenville has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .442. It's a different story for Sparta, though, as they've only averaged .349. Will they be able to contain Greenville's hitters?
Everything went Greenville's way against Sparta in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Greenville made off with a 10-3 win. Will the Yellow Jackets repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
