Franklin Pierce has gone 8-2 against Washington recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Cardinals will be playing in front of their home fans against the Patriots at 4:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Franklin Pierce sitting on five straight victories and Washington on three.
While Franklin Pierce's win against Fife wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Cardinals narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Trojans 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Cardinals have posted since March 25th.
Kiley Sledge
| 05/01/25 @ Fife | 11 |
| 04/29/25 vs Steilacoom | 8 |
| 04/21/25 vs Eatonville | 7 |
| 04/19/25 @ Cascade Christian | 0 |
| 04/15/25 vs Fife | 7 |
| 03/27/25 @ Washington | 14 |
Kiley Sledge made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. That's the most strikeouts she has posted since back in March. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played.
In other batting news, Leila Kennach was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Washington). They were the clear victors by a 25-3 margin over Clover Park on Thursday. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by eight runs or more this season.
Like Franklin Pierce, Washington also got a great game from a two-way player: Steve-Rae Garcia-Zamora. On the mound, she struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. Garcia-Zamora was also big at the plate, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with four runs, five RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dee Moore, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and one double. Another player making a difference was Harmony Steenhard, who went 2-for-5 with four runs, two RBI, and one double.
Washington was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .562. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Franklin Pierce's victory bumped their record up to 12-1. As for Washington, their win bumped their record up to 9-4.
Franklin Pierce's speedy runners might be the difference in Tuesday's contest. The Cardinals have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Washington, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Franklin Pierce continue to outrun the ball?
Everything went Franklin Pierce's way against Washington in their previous matchup back in March, as Franklin Pierce made off with a 10-1 victory. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Patriots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
