Martinsville is 1-9 against Hutsonville/Palestine since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Bluestreaks will face off against the Tigers at 4:30 p.m. Hutsonville/Palestine took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Martinsville, who comes in off a win.
Martinsville will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Friday, then bounced right back against Ramsey on Wednesday. The Bluestreaks were the clear victors by a 21-5 margin over the Rams. Considering the Bluestreaks' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.
Brylee Reed looked comfortable as she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Martinsville let Tori Young and Olivia Miller run wild. Young went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one double, while Miller went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Those three RBI gave Young a new career-high. Chloe Connelly was another key player, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Martinsville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Hutsonville/Palestine's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They lost 15-2 to Casey-Westfield. Having soared to a lofty 12 runs in the game before, the Tigers couldn't push the score so high this time.
Hayden Monan was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and ten unearned) runs off nine hits (and not a single walk). The dominant performance also gave her a new career-low in walks (zero). She was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. She has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played.
Monan wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brynn Griffin, who went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run.
The win got Martinsville back to even at 7-7. As for Hutsonville/Palestine, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-5.
Martinsville might still be hurting after the 8-0 loss they got from Hutsonville/Palestine in their previous meeting last Monday. Can the Bluestreaks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
