The Woodland Beavers will venture away from home to face off against the Mark Morris Monarchs at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Woodland is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Washougal 21-3 on Monday. The win was familiar territory for the Beavers, who have now won three matchups in a row.
Addi Christensen made a splash no matter where she played. She pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Christensen was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March.
In other batting news, Lexi Manalili was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. Brynn Skelton was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
Woodland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Mark Morris' rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's sixth consecutive shutout on Monday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Columbia River a 7-0 shutout. The Monarchs have beaten the Rapids the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Rapids has come to flipping the script.
Like Woodland, Mark Morris also got a great game from a two-way player: Makenzie Henthorn. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Henthorn has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Paisley Fraidenburg, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one triple. That triple was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Megan Fugleberg, who got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two runs and one RBI.
Woodland's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-4. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.8 runs over those games. As for Mark Morris, their record now sits at 13-0.
Wednesday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Woodland hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .369. However, it's not like Mark Morris struggles in that department as they've averaged .414. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Woodland suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Mark Morris when the teams last played back in March. Can the Beavers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
