The West Springfield Spartans will venture away from home to square off against the West Potomac Wolverines at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. West Springfield is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last five games.
West Springfield is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Alexandria City with a sharp 15-1 victory on Tuesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Alexa Harvey and Kate Middendorf did most of the damage at the plate: Harvey went 2-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Middendorf went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Mia Lee was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
West Springfield always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .576. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Alexandria City only posted an OBP of .417.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when West Potomac and Robinson meet (six straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Wednesday. The Wolverines came up short against the Rams, falling 20-2.
West Potomac saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ashley McGuckin, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1. Those stolen bases marked the first that McGuckin snagged this season.
West Springfield's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-2. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for West Potomac, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
West Potomac's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: West Springfield has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12.1 hits per game. It's a different story for West Potomac, though, as they've been averaging 13.2 hits. Given West Springfield's sizable advantage in that area, the Wolverines will need to find a way to close that gap.
West Springfield took their victory against West Potomac when the teams last played back in March by a conclusive 8-2 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
