The Hedgesville Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the Spring Mills Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Hedgesville took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They blew past Martinsburg 13-1. The high-scoring effort was just what the Eagles needed considering they were shut out in their previous match.
Chloe Frankhouser made a big impact no matter where she played. She tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Frankhouser was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Maggie Boyer was a standout: she went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Kaelyn Dollar was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Hedgesville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. They are 8-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Spring Mills had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They put the hurt on Hedgesville with a sharp 12-0 win. The Cardinals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 contests by seven runs or more this season.
Like Hedgesville, Spring Mills also got a great game from a two-way player: Taryn Close. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Close has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Alexis Wagner, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Hedgesville's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-13-1. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 8.8 runs. As for Spring Mills, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record up to 17-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Hedgesville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Spring Mills struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Hedgesville suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Spring Mills in their previous meeting on Thursday. Can the Eagles avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
