Softball Game Preview: Freedom Patriots vs. Abington Heights Comets

The Freedom Patriots will square off against the Abington Heights Comets at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Abington Heights will be up against a hot Freedom squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Patriots were the clear victors by a 17-2 margin over Bethlehem Catholic on Tuesday. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by six runs or more this season.

Meanwhile, Abington Heights got the win against West Scranton on Wednesday by a conclusive 14-3. The Comets have beaten the Invaders the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Invaders has come to flipping the script.

Laurenp Stalica was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off one hit. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with one home run and three RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cecelia O'Malley, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Another player making a difference was Isabelle Wilmot, who went 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI.

Abington Heights was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Freedom's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-2. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.9 runs over those games. As for Abington Heights, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.