The Colonie Central Wolfpack are taking a road trip to challenge the Shaker Bison at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Colonie Central has five straight victories, Shaker has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Colonie Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Albany on Monday as they made off with a 20-3 win. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Ashley Hacker and Sydney Cataldo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Hacker pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Meanwhile, Cataldo tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Hacker has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances. At bat, Hacker went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI, while Cataldo went 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI.
In other batting news, Taylor Parisi was a standout: she got on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. Jadeyn Barbero was another key player, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with one home run, four runs, and two RBI.
Colonie Central hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Shaker came up short against Bethlehem Central on Monday and fell 4-1.
Colonie Central pushed their record up to 8-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Shaker, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-5.
Shaker's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Colonie Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .327. It's a different story for Shaker, though, as they've only averaged .255. Will they be able to contain Colonie Central's hitters?
Colonie Central couldn't quite get it done against Shaker when the teams last played back in April of 2024 as they fell 4-1. Can the Wolfpack avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
