For the first time this season, Florence/Henry will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will be playing in front of their home fans against the Deuel Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Florence/Henry's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Sisseton 18-0. The Falcons haven't had any issues with the Redmen recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Elizabeth Reiter made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Reiter was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, Brooke Hlavacek was a standout: she scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Another player making a difference was Ashlynn Vavruska, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Deuel got the win against Milbank on Monday by a conclusive 22-1.
Like Florence/Henry, Deuel also got a great game from a two-way player: Katrina Hagberg. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Hagberg was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and five RBI. What's more, she posted two doubles, the most she's had since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Deuel got a massive performance out of Elle Holden, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those five RBI gave Holden a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Graclyn Nielsen, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Florence/Henry was able to grind out a solid victory over Deuel in their previous meeting back in May of 2024, winning 10-5. Do the Falcons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cardinals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
