The Penfield Patriots will challenge the Irondequoit Eagles at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Penfield has three straight wins, Irondequoit has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Penfield's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Webster Schroeder with a sharp 9-0 victory. Considering the Patriots have won five contests by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Clare Magee's shutout, as she gave up just three hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Penfield got a massive performance out of Stephanie Coughlin, who went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Ella Malley, who went 2-for-5 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Brighton hit Irondequoit with a eight-run sixth inning on Thursday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Eagles lost 14-2 to the Bruins.
Irondequoit saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Rianne Maddaleno, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI. That hit marked the first that Maddaleno has got this season.
Penfield's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.5 runs over those games. As for Irondequoit, their loss dropped their record down to 2-11.
Irondequoit's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Penfield has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.7 hits per game. It's a different story for Irondequoit, though, as they've been averaging 11.9 hits. Given Penfield's sizable advantage in that area, the Eagles will need to find a way to close that gap.
Penfield took their win against Irondequoit in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 18-0 score. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
