Softball Recap: New Castle Comes Up Short

If New Castle was feeling good fresh off their 24-0 takedown of Penn Hills on Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Hurricanes fell just short of the North Hills Indians by a score of 9-8 on Thursday. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Indians this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 10-4 two weeks ago.

Aliyah Stalczynski was cooking despite her team's loss, going 3-for-4 with four runs, two stolen bases, and two RBI. Gabby Mangieri also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.

New Castle has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the losses came by an average of only 1.33 runs. As for North Hills, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-3.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. New Castle will square off against Moniteau at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The Hurricanes' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Warriors have averaged an impressive 6.1 runs per game this season. As for North Hills, they will face off against Mars at 1:00 p.m. on Monday.