The Poth Pirates will head out to challenge the Luling Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Luling will be up against a hot Poth team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Everything went Poth's way against Stockdale on Tuesday as Poth made off with a 13-2 victory. With that win, the Pirates brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Bella Serna was a standout: she scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Caitlyn Castillo also deserves some recognition as she launched her first home run of the season.
Poth always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .571 or higher in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Luling hadn't done well against Nixon-Smiley recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Luling blew past Nixon-Smiley 22-8.
Nedeyin Magallanez made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-low in walks (zero). She was even better at the plate, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaleigh Medina, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. Those three runs gave her a new career-high. Xxabriella Rodriguez was another key player, scoring a run while going 3-for-5.
Poth pushed their record up to 8-6 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.2 runs over those games. As for Luling, the victory got them back to even at 10-10.
Friday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Poth has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .473. However, it's not like Luling struggles in that department as they've averaged .507. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Poth took their win against Luling when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 10-1. Will Poth repeat their success, or does Luling has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.