The Ottawa Pirates will challenge the Dunlap Eagles at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Ottawa 2.7, Dunlap 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Wednesday, Ottawa came up short against Sycamore and fell 6-3. The Pirates haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.
Meanwhile, Dunlap entered their tilt with Morton on Thursday with ten consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with 11. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Potters a 9-0 shutout. Considering the Eagles have won eight games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Kaitlyn Atkinson, who gave up just five hits to keep Morton off the board. Atkinson has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Dunlap let Claire Morris and Gabby Drake run wild. Morris went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double, while Drake went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those two RBI gave Morris a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lexi Hamer, who went 2-for-5 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
They weren't the only ones making solid contact: Dunlap 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 nine hits in nine consecutive matchups.
Dunlap's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Ottawa, their loss dropped their record down to 11-4.
Ottawa beat Dunlap 3-0 when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
