Softball Preview: Millard North Mustangs vs. Gretna East Griffins
The Millard North Mustangs will challenge the Gretna East Griffins at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Millard North is looking to tack on another W to their eight-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Millard North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Legend, who was ranked 11th at the time (Millard North was ranked seventh). Millard North's pitcher stepped up to hand Legend a 5-0 shutout on Friday.
Millard North got a great performance from Jadyn Pokorny as she didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over six innings pitched. Pokorny has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Hayden Nelson was incredible, going 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Abby Beard, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Millard North didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with five strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Legend only tossed two.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Gretna East). They were the clear victor by a 17-9 margin over Blue Springs South on Friday. The Griffins might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by six runs or more this season.
The team relied heavily on Amelia Fliege, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and six RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in September of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Amanda Weis, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Millard North has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. As for Gretna East, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-4.
Millard North's speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's match. Millard North has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Gretna East, though, as they've been averaging only 0.9. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Millard North continue to outrun the ball?
Millard North took their victory against Gretna East when the teams last played back in September of 2023 by a conclusive 13-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Millard North since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
