Waterloo will head out to square off against Highland at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Waterloo has eight straight wins, Highland has nine straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While Waterloo's victory against Civic Memorial wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Bulldogs sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 win over the Eagles on Monday. That's two games straight that the Bulldogs have won by just one run.
Aidan Dintelman made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off eight hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 15 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Sam Juelfs was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Mallory Thompson was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Meanwhile, Highland fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Triad on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Knights by a score of 6-5.
Kaitlyn Wilson spent all 7.1 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and four unearned) runs on seven hits.
On the hitting side, Kamryn Leckrone made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Paige Wernle, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Waterloo's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-2. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Highland, their loss dropped their record down to 4-14.
Waterloo beat Highland 8-3 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for Waterloo since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
