The Old Forge Blue Devils will face off against the Holy Cross Crusaders at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Old Forge is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Old Forge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Forest City a 10-0 shutout. The victory continues a trend for the Blue Devils in their matchups with the Foresters: they've now won four in a row.
Kamryn Notari made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched. Notari was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
In other batting news, Joselyn DeStefano was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one double. That triple marked the first that she has hit this season. Another player making a difference was Kate O'Hearn, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Holy Cross waltzed into their matchup two weeks ago with 11 straight wins... but they left with 12. They had just enough and edged out the Spartans 7-5. The game was the first time the Crusaders have beaten the Spartans on their field since May 2, 2022.
AVA SCHMIDT spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on 11 hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on PEYTON GRABOSKE, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of MIA GALELLA, who went 1-for-5 with one home run.
Holy Cross' win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.1 runs over those games. As for Old Forge, the win got them back to even at 10-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Old Forge 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 Holy Cross struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Old Forge might still be hurting after the 15-0 loss they got from Holy Cross in their previous matchup back in April. Can the Blue Devils avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
