Loveland hasn't had much luck against Kings recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Tigers will square off against the Knights at 11:00 a.m. Loveland has given up an average of 8.4 runs per game this season, but Saturday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Loveland managed to slip by Ursuline Academy the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Tigers came up short against the Lions on Friday, falling 17-6.
Helena Keeton made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Another player making a difference was Payton Brown, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Kings had already won 18 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.2 runs) and they went ahead and made it 19 on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Eagles a 2-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Knights have posted since April 1st.
Not much got past Neely McElhaney, who gave up just four hits and racked up nine Ks to keep Milford off the board. McElhaney has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Alexis Fera, who went 1-for-2 with one home run. Natalia Brignoni-Marcano was another key player, going 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and one run.
Kings pushed their record up to 19-1 with the victory, which was their 24th straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Loveland, their loss dropped their record down to 9-11.
Loveland might still be hurting after the 13-2 defeat they got from Kings when the teams last played back in April. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
