vs
| 03/22/25 - Home | 2-0 W |
| 05/02/24 - Away | 9-1 W |
| 04/19/24 - Home | 2-11 L |
| 05/02/23 - Away | 2-3 L |
| 04/03/23 - Home | 2-9 L |
| + 5 more games |
Athens and Towanda are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2019, but likely not for long. The Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Black Knights at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Athens is coming into the contest hot, having won their last four games.
Athens' pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Canton with a sharp 11-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won nine matches by six runs or more so far this season.
The team relied heavily on Savanannah Finan, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Abby Ahern also deserves some recognition as she got her first hit of the season.
Athens was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Canton only posted a batting average of .000.
Meanwhile, it may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Towanda ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They skirted past Troy 6-4. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Black Knights have posted against the Trojans since May 10, 2021.
Tae Lynn Brabant spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and two unearned) runs on six hits.
On the hitting side, Towanda's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Aleah Johnson, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base and one RBI. That's the most hits Johnson has posted since back in April. Another was Kynlee Kunkle, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Towanda has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Athens, they pushed their record up to 18-1 with the victory, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Athens has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Towanda struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Athens skirted past Towanda 2-0 when the teams last played back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
