Softball Preview: Rochester Zebras vs. Eastern Comets
The Rochester Zebras will play host again on Monday to welcome the Eastern Comets, where first pitch is scheduled at 5:00 p.m. Rochester is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.3 runs per game this season.
Rochester scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 19-2 margin over Culver Community. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Mia Howdeshell made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Howdeshell was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Aubrey Wilson was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Makhia Harding was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Eastern's 21-5 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They fell just short of Northwestern by a score of 2-1 on Tuesday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs Eastern has scored all season.
Even though they lost, Eastern didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with seven strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
The win got Rochester back to even at 3-3. As for Eastern, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 1-4.
Monday's game will be a test for both team's pitchers. Rochester hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .325. However, it's not like Eastern struggles in that department as they've averaged .356. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Rochester suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Eastern in their previous meeting back in April of 2021. Thankfully for Rochester, Macy Coan (who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over five innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
