Softball Preview: Maplewood Rockets vs. Chalker Wildcats
Maplewood and Chalker are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2015, but likely not for long. The Maplewood Rockets will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against the Chalker Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. Maplewood is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.1 runs per game this season.
Maplewood's hitters might be in the hot seat on Monday considering what happened against Pymatuning Valley on Tuesday. They lost 12-0 to the Lakers.
Maplewood saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lauran Krieg, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Chalker's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of Pymatuning Valley by a score of 4-3. Chalker has struggled against Pymatuning Valley recently, as their matchup on Friday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Gabby Hromada spent all 7.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and three unearned) runs on seven hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Gabby Nieves was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Maplewood dropped their record down to 9-7 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Chalker, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 10-3.
Monday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Maplewood has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .443. However, it's not like Chalker struggles in that department as they've averaged .471. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Maplewood suffered a grim 7-1 defeat to Chalker when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Hromada, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Now that Maplewood knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
