The Wickliffe Blue Devils will face off against the Rootstown Rovers at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Wickliffe has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight losses, while Rootstown will come in with seven straight wins.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Wickliffe and Berkshire have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Tuesday. The Blue Devils fell just short of the Badgers by a score of 4-3.
Amanda Peklay was cooking despite her team's loss, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Audrey Musgrave, who went 3-for-4 with two runs.
Meanwhile, Rootstown made easy work of Crestwood on Tuesday and carried off a 14-4 victory.
Katie Sisley made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Rootstown got a massive performance out of Reise Thomas, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, three stolen bases, and four runs. Those four runs gave Thomas a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Morgan Giebel, who went 4-for-5 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple.
Rootstown kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive games.
Wickliffe's defeat dropped their record down to 4-6. As for Rootstown, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Wickliffe hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Rootstown struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Wickliffe came up short against Rootstown when the teams last played two weeks ago, falling 6-1. Will the Blue Devils have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other softball content.
