The Genoa-Kingston Cogs will challenge the St. Edward Green Wave at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Genoa-Kingston not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since April 20th (when they won 21-3). They blew past Byron 14-3.
Kennedy Smith was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up three earned runs off nine hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one walk in nine consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those two runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Kaylee Luepkes was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March. Arielle Rich was another key player, going 4-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Genoa-Kingston lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post two or more home runs.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Edward). They were the clear victors by a 23-10 margin over Wheaton Academy on Thursday. The win was familiar territory for the Green Wave, who have now won five contests in a row.
St. Edward got a massive performance out of Layne Dawson, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with four runs and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Sarah Gurley, who went 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double.
Genoa-Kingston's victory bumped their record up to 10-12. As for St. Edward, their win bumped their record up to 9-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Genoa-Kingston hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like St. Edward struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Genoa-Kingston got the 'W' in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 against St. Edward by a conclusive 22-1 score. Do the Cogs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Green Wave turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
