The Helena Bengals will challenge the Glacier Wolfpack at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Helena sitting on seven straight victories and Glacier on nine.
Helena came out on top against Great Falls on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run third inning. The Bengals took their match against the Bison 7-2. That's two games straight that the Bengals have won by exactly five runs.
Rylee Murgel was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. Murgel was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kamryn Klemp, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Charlie Smith, who went 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Helena was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Great Falls only posted a batting average of .258.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Glacier). They blew past Flathead 19-2 on Thursday. The Wolfpack might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by ten runs or more this season.
Olivia Warriner was incredible, firing off two home runs, eight RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-4. Cazz Rankosky was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Helena's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Glacier, their win bumped their record up to 13-2.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Helena hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .321. However, it's not like Glacier struggles in that department as they've averaged .390. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Helena came out on top in a nail-biter against Glacier in their previous meeting back in April, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Bengals repeat their success, or do the Wolfpack have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
