The Elmwood Royals will face off against the Genoa Area Comets at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The timing is sure in Elmwood's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Genoa Area has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
Elmwood is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Pandora-Gilboa get on the board and left with a 21-0 victory on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Royals considering their two-run performance the game before.
Allyie Reynolds made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Reynolds was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
In other pitching news, Natalie Blake looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
Back at the plate, Libbie Tyson was a standout: she went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season. Another player making a difference was Dakota Rader-King, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.
Elmwood hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pandora-Gilboa struck out nine times.
Otsego hit Genoa Area with a six-run fourth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Comets came up short against the Knights, falling 11-1.
Emersen Bickel was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-2 with one home run.
Elmwood has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Genoa Area, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Genoa Area's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Elmwood hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .320. It's a different story for Genoa Area, though, as they've only averaged .237. Will they be able to contain Elmwood's hitters?
Elmwood skirted past Genoa Area 4-2 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Do the Royals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Comets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
